The latest survey by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has found that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Switzerland fell to around 90.000 in September 2022 - the lowest unemployment rate since 2001. Authorities have cited the end of COVID restrictions and economic growth as the reasons why there is such a low rate of joblessness.

Unemployment in Switzerland falls to levels unseen since 2001

In the report, given to 20 minuten, SECO found that the number of people looking for a job in Switzerland fell by 1.800 between the end of August and the end of September 2022. Around 90.000 people were registered as unemployed at job centres in Swiss cantons, 25,6 percent fewer than in September 2021.

According to another report by amstat.ch, this constitutes the lowest level of unemployment in Switzerland in over 20 years. The low rate of unemployment has fed into concerns about a shortage of workers, with x28AG reporting there were 250.000 vacancies in Switzerland in the third quarter of 2022.

End of COVID restrictions sparked a return to full-time work

The statistics also showed that after the end of most COVID restrictions, more people were able to return to full-time work. SECO cited an older study which found that the number of people working irregular or shorter working hours declined by 31 percent between June and July 2022. The number of “lost working hours” - impacted by sick leave, lost jobs, productivity or furlough - also declined by 43,5 percent, down to 94.883 hours in total.

Finally, the report found that unemployment among the youth has fallen significantly. Slightly more than 9.000 people under 20 were looking for work in September, a drop of 25,4 percent compared to last year.