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Employment rates on the rise in Switzerland

Xinhua, May 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Monday revealed that the number of employed people in Switzerland rose by 2.8 percent between the first quarter 2014 and the first quarter 2015.

This positive trend brings the amount of employed individuals to 4.972 million, while the country's unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent as of the first quarter of 2015, down from 4.8 percent a year ago.

During this one-year period, the number of working foreigners (over 1.48 million) increased more rapidly than the number of Swiss workers, with a 4.5 percent and 2.1 percent increase respectfully.

2015 quarterly figures report that this year saw 15,000 fewer unemployed individuals in the confederation compared to last year, bringing the total number of jobless individuals to 212,000.

These figures mirror European Union trends which have also seen a drop in unemployment rates, falling from 11 percent at the beginning of 2014 to 10.2 percent by the first quarter of 2015.

The number of long-term unemployed remained stable over the one year period, with some 81,000 individuals looking for work for one year or more in the first three months of 2014 and 2015.

Both the 15-24 and 25-49 age brackets registered decreases in their unemployment rates over the period, respectively dropping from 9.3 to 7.5 percent and 4.8 to 4.3 percent.

The unemployment rate for 50 to 64 year olds increased however, rising from 3.2 percent during the first quarter of 2014 to 3.5 percent.

FSO figures also indicate that the number of people engaging in part-time work has increased over the past year, with some 98,000 additional workers partaking in this form of employment.

According to FSO, 343,000 out of the total 1.691 million individuals engaging in part-time work registered a desire to increase their working hours. Endit