Since the 2008 financial crisis, Switzerland has never recorded such a low unemployment rate, which reached 2.4% at the end of June. According to specialists, this trend should continue in the coming months. The reasons for this fall are the favourable exchange rate and the rather accommodating economic policy of the European Central Bank.
According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, the number of unemployed people registered with the Regional Employment Offices fell in one month from 109,392 to 106,579. Over the year, this fall reaches 20%; it was felt particularly among 15-24-year-olds, with a drop of -23.9%, followed by those aged 50 and over, with a decrease of -14.1%. The jobless rate remains the same for men and women (2.4%) but affects foreigners (4.1%) more than Swiss nationals (1.8%).
However, not all regions are equal: the French-speaking cantons remain the hardest hit. In Neuchâtel, the unemployment rate is 4.4% and has fallen by only 0.8% over one year; in Geneva it stands at 4.3%. The best off are the inhabitants of small cantons such as Uri, with only 0.5% unemployment, Obwalden with 0.6% and Nidwalden with 0.8%. Although the Lake Geneva region has a significantly higher unemployment rate than the others, it remains very attractive and major investments are being made there, which in the long term could well gradually close the gap.
Nidwalden with 0.8%. Although the Lake Geneva region has a significantly higher unemployment rate than the others, it remains very attractive and major investments are being made there, which in the long term could well gradually close the gap.