Swiss Unemployment Continues To Rise

At the end of December, a total of 147,275 people were registered as unemployed in the regional employment centres (RAV) across Switzerland, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said on Friday. This was 8,415 more than in November and 16,982 more than at the end of 2024.

Against this backdrop, the unemployment rate rose to 3.1% in December after 2.9% in the previous month. Adjusted for seasonal effects, however, the rate remained at 3%.

The trend of slightly rising unemployment figures observed since 2023 continued last year, SECO added. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate gradually increased from 2.7% in January to the 3% mark at the end of the year.

+ Fewer jobs and more unemployment in the Swiss banking sector

The annual average unemployment rate climbed by 0.4 percentage points to 2.8%. An average of 133,712 people were also registered as unemployed. That was 21,149 more than in 2024.

The number of jobseekers also continued to rise. In December, a total of 231,624 jobseekers were registered with the RAVs, 5,740 more than in November. At the same time, the number of job vacancies at the RAVs also increased. They increased by 3,720 or 10% to 35,940.

Meanwhile, the situation regarding short-time work has worsened. The data published with a delay at the end of September shows a quarter increase in the number of people affected by short-time working to 10,785.

The short-time work figures come at a time of great uncertainty in trade with the US. At the beginning of August, the Trump administration imposed a tariff of 39% on the import of many Swiss goods. This came as a shock, especially for export-orientated industries. A tariff of 15% has been in force since mid-November.

Adapted from German by AI/ts

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