Unemployment rate remains at 2.9 percent in March

At the end of March, 132,569 people were registered as unemployed in the regional employment centers (RAV) across Switzerland, as reported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) on Friday. This was 2877 people or 2.1 percent fewer than in February.

The unemployment rate remained at 2.9 percent. Seasonally adjusted, the rate rose to 2.8 percent from 2.7 percent, Seco added. Depending on the time of year, seasonal fluctuations can influence the figures in some sectors. This affects construction and gastronomy, among others.

The picture for jobseekers has hardly changed. In March, a total of 212,390 people looking for a job were registered with the RAV. This is a slight decrease of 309 people compared to February. Accordingly, the jobseeker rate remained at 4.6 percent.

Fewer vacancies

There were fewer vacancies than in February. The RAV registered 42,530 vacancies, a decrease of 4.2 percent. Slightly more than half of the vacancies were subject to the reporting requirement, which applies to occupations with an unemployment rate of at least 5 percent.

Seco publishes data on short-time work with a time lag. In January, 9202 people in Switzerland were affected by short-time work, 9.3 more than in December. The number of company departments affected fell by 2.6 percent to 493.