At the end of November, 91,327 people were registered as unemployed in regional employment centers (RAV). That was 1,691 more than in October, but still 24,917 less than in the same month last year, as the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) announced on Wednesday.
As a result, the unemployment rate rose to 2.0 from 1.9 percent in the previous month. That 1.9 percent reported for October and before that for September was a multi-year low. The last time the rate was this low was twenty years ago.
As always at this time of year, the current increase is likely due to the weather, which means fewer jobs in construction or the catering trade. Seasonally adjusted, that is, after seasonal factors are excluded, the rate also fell from 2.1 percent to 2.0 percent.
Economists polled by the AWP news agency expected values of this magnitude.
Despite the slight increase in the unemployment rate, the drying up of the Swiss job market can be seen in the job search data. That number was 164,496 in November, up 4,402 from October, according to Seco. But a year ago there were 41,853 more. The number of jobs reported to RAV fell to 56,446, down 6,443 in the month under review.
According to the information obtained, 43 thousand 465 of the workplaces reported to be open were subject to the registration requirement for occupations with an unemployment rate of at least five percent. These occupations include the hotel and catering industry or construction to name a few. The list is updated for each new year.
The short-time working tool no longer plays any role in the Swiss labor market. In September – data is reported with a lag – only 1,525 people were working short-term. This means that the number decreased by 70 people compared to the previous August. The number of companies affected by the short-time working decreased by 55 to 181 companies. (SDA)