The Swiss Labor Market Remains in Robust Condition
Published: Thursday, Sep 7th 2023, 08:40
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
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The Swiss labour market remains robust despite signs of an economic slowdown. The unemployment rate rose slightly in August due to seasonal effects, but companies are still struggling to fill vacancies with suitable personnel. The good condition of the labour market is also reflected in the August report released by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The number of people registered as unemployed at the Regional Employment Centers (RAV) increased by 2280 to 89,881 and the unemployment rate rose to 2.0 percent from 1.9 percent. This was mainly due to seasonal effects. The unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 increased by 0.4 percentage points to 2.2 percent, which is typical as young people look for work after completing their education or training in the late summer. The fears of a significant increase in unemployment, fuelled by job cuts at UBS/Credit Suisse, have not been realised. Such announcements are only reflected in SECO statistics with a delay of a few months. The labour market remains dry for the time being. The unemployment rate is currently moving sideways at a very low level. The number of long-term unemployed has again decreased slightly and is now extremely low at 10,926 people. The shortage of skilled workers in Switzerland is still pronounced. In the autumn, this problem may ease for companies as employment growth slows as expected and the cooling economy gradually affects the labour market. The unemployment rate is also expected to increase slightly. The number of vacancies reported to the RAVs decreased by 1838 to 47,366 in August, 20,896 fewer than in the same month last year. The number of people in short-time work in June - the data is reported with a delay - was 959, 313 fewer than in the previous month. The number of affected companies decreased by 13 to 57.nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
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