Swiss Labour Force Survey in 3nd quarter 2018: 1.2percent increase in number of employed persons; unemployment rate based on ILO definition falls to 4.4percent

In Switzerland, a total of 5.081 million persons were gainfully employed in the third quarter of 2018, which is 1.2% more than in the third quarter of 2017. The number of employed men rose by 0.3%, that of employed women by 2.4% , In full-time equivalents (FTE), the increase was 1.3% compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year (men: + 0.3%, women: + 2.9%). Seasonally adjusted, the number of employees and the number of FTEs increased by 0.5% between the 2nd and the 3rd quarter of 2018.

Unemployed According to ILO, Q1 2013-Q3 2018

Source: bfs.admin.ch - Click to enlarge

Between the 3rd quarter of 2017 and the 3rd quarter of 2018, the number of foreign workers increased by 2.2% and that of the Swiss workforce by 0.8%. Among the foreign workers, the increase was highest among those with a residence permit (C: + 3.8%). An increase was also recorded among persons with a residence permit (ID card B or L, for at least twelve months in Switzerland: + 1.1%). On the other hand, the number of gainfully employed persons with a short-term residence permit (record L, less than twelve months in Switzerland: -1.1%) and those of frontier workers (record G: -0.2%) fell.

Unemployment in Switzerland and in Europe

In the third quarter of 2018, 217,000 persons were unemployed in Switzerland according to the definition of the International Labor Office (ILO). This is about 26 000 less than a year earlier. The share of the unemployed in the labor force was 4.4%, 0.6 percentage points lower than in the third quarter of 2017. Seasonally adjusted, the unemployment rate fell from 4.9% in the previous quarter to 4.3%. Between the third quarter of 2017 and the third quarter of 2018, the unemployment rate decreased both in the European Union (EU28: from 7.3% to 6.5%) and in the euro-zone (EA19: from 8.7% to 7 ,8th%).

Youth Unemployment

In Switzerland, according to the ILO (15 to 24-year-olds), the youth unemployment rate fell between the third quarter of 2017 and the third quarter of 2018 from 10.5% to 9.2%. In the same period, the youth unemployment rate fell both in the European Union (EU28: from 16.6% to 14.6%) and in the euro-zone (EA19: from 18.3% to 16.5%).

Unemployment according to different characteristics

The unemployment rate according to the ILO decreased among the 25- to 49-year-olds between the 3rd quarter of 2017 and the 3rd quarter of 2018 (from 4.8% to 3.9%), while it rose among the 50-64-year-olds (from 3.5% to 3.8%). Both men and women declined (from 4.6% to 4.2% and from 5.4% to 4.7%, respectively). The unemployment rate among foreigners dropped from 8.1% to 7.3% and among the Swiss from 3.8% to 3.4%. In the third quarter of 2018, the ILO’s unemployment rate was 5.1% for EU28 / EFTA nationals and 12.6% for third-country nationals.

Duration of unemployment

Between the third quarter of 2017 and the third quarter of 2018, the number of long-term unemployed persons according to the ILO (one year or more unemployed) fell from 92,000 to 80,000. The proportion of long-term unemployed among all unemployed also fell (by 37.9%). to 37.1%). The median duration of unemployment fell from 225 to 221 days.

Part-time work and underemployment

The number of part-time workers was 1.699 million in the third quarter of 2018 (+29 000 compared to the same quarter last year). Among them were 349,000 underemployed persons, i. People who want to work more and who are available at short notice. The underemployment rate totaled 7.1% in the third quarter of 2018, slightly lower than in the third quarter of 2017 (7.3%).

Unemployment Rate and Youth Unemployment Rate, Q3 2018

Source: bfs.admin.ch - Click to enlarge