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The crown crisis hits the Swiss labor market with full force. Massively more people have been unemployed in the past month. In April, more than 150,000 people were out of work in Switzerland. Compared to April a year ago, this means an increase of 43 percent.
The most important questions and answers about the growing number of unemployed in Switzerland.
Why was there such a massive increase? As a result of Federal Council measures, the economy came to a complete halt in many sectors in mid-March. The companies closed and there was a hiring freeze. Many workers were fired, especially temporary workers or temporary workers.
In just two months, the number of unemployed increased by more than 35,600 people. Overall, the unemployment rate rose to 3.3 percent in April. In February it was still 2.5 percent. Without a short-term job, unemployment would be many times higher: 37 percent of all employees currently work in the short term, or 1.9 million Swiss.
Can short-term work reduce unemployment? Short-term work has never been so widespread in Switzerland. According to estimates by ETH Zurich’s economic research agency KOF, short-term work has greatly reduced unemployment. Otherwise, every third or fourth employee would have lost his job. Without short-term work, an additional 10 percent of employees would be affected by long-term unemployment.
Which industry was the most affected? The hotel industry, which was already characterized by high unemployment, even without the crown crisis, is currently particularly affected. Because the restaurants had to close entirely, almost every tenth employee in the hotel industry is unemployed. This means that 18,419 people are out of work alone in the catering industry, more than double the number before the outbreak of the crown crisis.
The entertainment and education sectors and the construction industry also registered an above-average increase.
Can unemployment increase further? Yes, because in almost all economic sectors the number of employees is classified as too high. Therefore, many companies are planning more layoffs in the coming months. This will lead to a significant drop in employment again.
Therefore, the federal government’s economic forecasting section anticipates an average unemployment rate of 3.9 percent this year. But it won’t look better next year, either. The federal government expects an additional 0.2 percentage point increase in 2021, and therefore an unemployment rate of 4.1 percent.
