The deterioration observed last year on the employment front in Switzerland remained largely bearable for unemployment insurance, which should end the year with a new surplus of more than 1.5 billion francs.
The unemployment rate, however, rose to an annual average of 2.4%, even reaching 2.8% in December. The 2023 financial year represented the lowest rate in more than two decades with an average rate of 2.0%.
The unemployment rate in 2024 remains below the threshold considered economically neutral of 2.8%, observes the State Secretariat for the Economy (Seco) in its periodic report on Friday.
2.8% in December
However, it is exactly this level that was reached in the month of December alone, following an increase of around twenty basis points sequentially. The number of unemployed thus increased by almost 8% to represent 130,293 people, moving further away from the low of 104,518 people recorded in June. The youth unemployment rate increased by around ten basis points to 2.7% and that of seniors by around twenty points to 2.6%.
The regional employment offices (ORP) recorded a jump of 5.1% in the number of job seekers, which represented 209,024 people. The rate of job seekers thus increased by 0.2 percentage points to 4.5%.
At the same time, the ORPs took note of 30,422 vacant positions – almost half of which were subject to notification requirements – or 7.6% less than in November. Excluding the effect of seasonal variations, Seco experts nevertheless calculate an increase of 2.0% in the number of places to be filled.
According to the latest available data, the number of people who have exhausted their right to compensation rose by a third over one month in October, to 614 people.
Towards a new surplus for unemployment insurance
Seco’s projections for unemployment insurance show revenues of 8.86 billion francs for 2024, compared to 9.14 billion a year earlier, as well as expenses of 7.31 billion (6.38 billion). The surplus should therefore stand at 1.55 billion, after a gain of 2.76 billion in 2023.
The increase in spending is based in particular on a large billion more for unemployment benefits, at 5.48 billion. Compensation in the event of a reduction in working hours has for their part exploded from less than 200 million to almost 600 million.
This article was automatically published. Sources: ats/awp
