While Switzerland’s authorities hope new measures will give Swiss-based unemployed people an opportunity to get the job, real Swiss jobless rate double official figure, reported the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
Swiss SECO reported that the figure of 106,000 people out of work last month was the lowest since the global economic crisis kicked off in autumn 2008 and means 28,000 people have left the jobless queues in the last 12 months. At the same time, a new analysis by the Federal Statistics Office (FSO) showed Switzerland’s real unemployment rate may be double the official figure of 2.4 percent – at 4.9 percent.
The difference in the two figures for that rich European country is down to how unemployment is measured, say the experts. A low jobless rate has been something for the cantons to crow about in recent times but new figures suggest the real story may be a fair bit gloomier. While SECO figure is based on the number of jobless persons registered at the unemployment offices, the higher FSO figure is based on 120,000 household surveys as per techniques set out by the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO).
The ILO measurements capture people who may have slipped through the cracks in the system. That includes job seekers who are no longer signed on at unemployment agencies because they have ceased to receive benefits, as well as people who have given up hope in the search for a job.
In July, 30,000 jobs were advertised through Swiss unemployment offices, up around 13,000. Just under half of all the jobs listed were a result of the introduction of the new measures. In Denmark, the rate of unemployment went down thanks to the migrants who are ready to apply even for the short-term jobs.
