Brief Review

Unemployment

Switzerland enjoys a relatively low unemployment rate, at 3.0 percent as of December 2008, one of the lowest rates in the world. Unemployment rates vary according to region. The German-speaking regions have the lowest rates of unemployment, while the French and Italian speaking ones have the highest. Women tend to be unemployed more often than men, and foreigners more than the Swiss.

One reason for the success of Switzerland’s labour market is that, compared with other European countries, the access to unemployment benefits is quite restrictive, which helps to keep the cost of unemployment insurance low. Although unemployment benefits, at 70 to 80 percent of the normal salary, are relatively high compared with other countries, there is a general waiting period of five days of verified unemployment before payments start and they are paid for a maximum period of only 150 days. Unemployed workers also have to prove that they have been actively searching for work, with a minimum of ten job applications expected every month.