Switzerland CHF

Switzerland Unemployment Rate

Info

History

Chart

Impact:

High

Source: State Secretariat for Economic Affairs

Latest Release:

Date:

Big Surprise:

-0.1%

CHF

Actual:

2.8%

Forecast: 2.9%

Previous/Revision:

2.9%

Period: Apr

Next Release:

Date:

Forecast: 2.8%

Period: May

What Does It Measure?

The unemployment rate in Switzerland measures the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed and actively seeking employment, providing insights into the overall employment situation and economic health of the country. It primarily focuses on employment levels, economic productivity, and labor market dynamics, with key indicators including the total number of unemployed individuals and the working-age population.

Frequency

The unemployment rate is released monthly, typically on the last working day of the month as a preliminary estimate that may be revised later.

Why Do Traders Care?

Traders monitor the unemployment rate closely as it serves as a critical indicator of economic health, impacting financial markets, including the Swiss franc (CHF), equities, and bonds. A lower-than-expected unemployment rate can signal a strengthening economy, which may lead to bullish sentiment in financial markets, while higher-than-expected rates can have bearish effects.

What Is It Derived From?

The unemployment rate is derived from data collected through surveys from households and businesses, utilizing sample responses from employed and unemployed individuals. This is often analyzed in relation to the number of job vacancies, with methodologies aligning with international standards to ensure accuracy and consistency.

Description

The unemployment rate provides a vital snapshot of the economic environment and labor market conditions in Switzerland. It is typically reported as a percentage of the total workforce, comparing those out of work and seeking jobs against the labor force, and is often contextualized with historical trends to gauge economic performance and recovery.

Additional Notes

This indicator serves as a lagging economic measure, typically reflecting historical trends in the labor market rather than predicting future movements. It is often compared with global unemployment rates and other regional labor market indicators to assess relative economic strength and labor dynamics.

Bullish or Bearish for Currency and Stocks

Higher than expected: Bearish for CHF, Bearish for Stocks. Lower than expected: Bullish for CHF, Bullish for Stocks. A dovish tone signaling lower interest rates or economic support is usually good for the CHF but bad for Stocks due to cheaper borrowing costs.

Legend

High Potential Impact
This event has a strong potential to move markets significantly. If the 'Actual' value differs enough from the forecast or if the 'Previous' value is significantly revised, it signals new information that markets may rapidly adjust to.

Medium Potential Impact
This event may cause moderate market movement, especially if the 'Actual' deviates from the forecast or there's a notable revision to the 'Previous' value.

Low Potential Impact
This event is unlikely to affect market pricing unless there's an unexpected surprise or a major revision to prior data.

Surprise - Currency May Strengthen
Actual deviated from Forecast on a medium or high impact event and historically could strengthen the currency.

Surprise - Currency May Weaken
Actual deviated from Forcast on a medium or high impact event and historically could weaken the currency.

Big Surprise - Currency More Likely To Strengthen
'Actual' deviated from 'Forecast' more than 75% of historical deviations on a medium or high impact event and may likely strengthen the currency.

Big Surprise - Currency More Likely To Weaken
'Actual' deviated from 'Forecast' more than 75% of historical deviations on a medium or high impact event and may likely weaken the currency

Green Number	Better than forecast for the currency (or previous revise better)
Red Number	Worse than forecast for the currency (or previous revise better)
Hawkish	Supports higher interest rates to fight inflation, strengthening the currency but weighing on stocks.
Dovish	Favors lower rates to boost growth, weakening the currency but lifting stocks.

Date	Actual	Forecast	Previous	Surprise
May 06, 2025	2.8%	2.9%	2.9%	-0.1%
Apr 04, 2025	2.9%	3.2%	2.9%	-0.3%
Mar 06, 2025	2.9%	3%	3%	-0.1%
Feb 06, 2025	3%	2.9%	2.8%	0.1%
Jan 10, 2025	2.8%	2.6%	2.6%	0.2%
Dec 05, 2024	2.6%	2.5%	2.5%	0.1%
Nov 05, 2024	2.5%	2.5%	2.5%
Oct 04, 2024	2.5%	2.4%	2.4%	0.1%
Sep 05, 2024	2.4%	2.3%	2.3%	0.1%
Aug 06, 2024	2.3%	2.2%	2.3%	0.1%
Jul 04, 2024	2.3%	2.2%	2.3%	0.1%
Jun 06, 2024	2.3%	2.3%	2.3%
May 07, 2024	2.3%	2.4%	2.4%	-0.1%
Apr 08, 2024	2.4%	2.6%	2.4%	-0.2%
Mar 07, 2024	2.4%	2.6%	2.5%	-0.2%
Feb 07, 2024	2.5%	2.4%	2.3%	0.1%
Jan 09, 2024	2.3%	2.2%	2.1%	0.1%
Dec 07, 2023	2.1%	2.1%	2%
Nov 07, 2023	2%	2.1%	2%	-0.1%
Oct 06, 2023	2%	2%	2%
Sep 07, 2023	2%	1.9%	1.9%	0.1%
Aug 07, 2023	1.9%	1.9%	1.9%
Jul 07, 2023	1.9%	1.8%	1.9%	0.1%
Jun 07, 2023	1.9%	1.9%	2%
May 05, 2023	2%	2%	2%
Apr 06, 2023	2%	2%	2.1%
Mar 07, 2023	2.1%	2.2%	2.2%	-0.1%
Feb 07, 2023	2.2%	2.2%	2.1%
Jan 09, 2023	2.1%	2.1%	2%
Dec 07, 2022	2%	1.9%	1.9%	0.1%
Nov 07, 2022	1.9%	2%	1.9%	-0.1%
Oct 07, 2022	1.9%	2%	2%	-0.1%
Sep 08, 2022	2%	2%	2%
Aug 08, 2022	2%	2.1%	2%	-0.1%
Jul 07, 2022	2%	2%	2.1%
Jun 08, 2022	2.1%	2.1%	2.3%
May 06, 2022	2.3%	2.2%	2.4%	0.1%
Apr 07, 2022	2.4%	2.4%	2.5%
Mar 07, 2022	2.5%	2.5%	2.6%
Feb 07, 2022	2.6%	2.7%	2.6%	-0.1%
Jan 07, 2022	2.6%	2.5%	2.5%	0.1%
Dec 07, 2021	2.5%	2.6%	2.5%	-0.1%
Nov 08, 2021	2.5%	2.6%	2.6%	-0.1%
Oct 07, 2021	2.6%	2.7%	2.7%	-0.1%
Sep 07, 2021	2.7%	2.8%	2.8%	-0.1%
Aug 09, 2021	2.8%	2.8%	2.8%
Jul 08, 2021	2.8%	2.9%	3.1%	-0.1%
Jun 07, 2021	3.1%	3.4%	3.3%	-0.3%
May 07, 2021	3.3%	3.3%	3.4%
Apr 09, 2021	3.4%	3.6%	3.6%	-0.2%
Mar 08, 2021	3.6%	3.8%	3.7%	-0.2%
Feb 08, 2021	3.7%	3.6%	3.5%	0.1%
Jan 08, 2021	3.5%	3.4%	3.3%	0.1%
Dec 08, 2020	3.3%	3.3%	3.2%
Nov 09, 2020	3.2%	3.3%	3.2%	-0.1%
Oct 08, 2020	3.2%	3.3%	3.3%	-0.1%
Sep 09, 2020	3.3%	3.3%	3.2%
Aug 10, 2020	3.2%	3.4%	3.2%	-0.2%
Jul 08, 2020	3.2%	3.4%	3.4%	-0.2%
Jun 09, 2020	3.4%	3.5%	3.3%	-0.1%
May 07, 2020	3.3%	3.3%	2.9%
Apr 07, 2020	2.9%	2.8%	2.5%	0.1%
Mar 09, 2020	2.5%	2.6%	2.6%	-0.1%
Feb 10, 2020	2.6%	2.6%	2.5%
Jan 10, 2020	2.5%	2.4%	2.3%	0.1%
Dec 09, 2019	2.3%	2.3%	2.2%
Nov 08, 2019	2.2%	2.2%	2.1%
Oct 08, 2019	2.1%	2.2%	2.1%	-0.1%
Sep 09, 2019	2.1%	2.2%	2.1%	-0.1%
Aug 09, 2019	2.1%	2.1%	2.1%
Jul 09, 2019	2.1%	2.2%	2.3%	-0.1%
Jun 07, 2019	2.3%	2.3%	2.4%
May 08, 2019	2.4%	2.3%	2.5%	0.1%
Apr 09, 2019	2.5%	2.5%	2.7%
Mar 07, 2019	2.7%	2.7%	2.8%
Feb 08, 2019	2.8%	2.4%	2.7%	0.4%
Jan 08, 2019	2.7%	2.5%	2.5%	0.2%
Dec 10, 2018	2.5%	2.5%	2.4%
Nov 08, 2018	2.4%	2.4%	2.4%
Oct 08, 2018	2.4%	2.4%	2.4%
Sep 07, 2018	2.4%	2.4%	2.4%
Aug 09, 2018	2.4%	2.4%	2.4%
Jul 09, 2018	2.4%	2.4%	2.4%
Jun 07, 2018	2.4%	2.5%	2.7%	-0.1%
May 08, 2018	2.7%	2.9%	2.9%	-0.2%
Apr 09, 2018	2.9%	3%	3.2%	-0.1%
Mar 08, 2018	3.2%	3.4%	3.3%	-0.2%
Feb 09, 2018	3.3%	3.4%	3.3%	-0.1%
Jan 09, 2018	3.3%	3.1%	3.1%	0.2%
Dec 07, 2017	3.1%	3.1%	3%
Nov 09, 2017	3%	3%	3%
Oct 10, 2017	3%	3%	3%
Sep 08, 2017	3%	3%	3%
Aug 08, 2017	3%	3%	3%
Jul 07, 2017	3%	3%	3.1%
Jun 08, 2017	3.1%	3.1%	3.3%
May 09, 2017	3.3%	3.3%	3.4%
Apr 07, 2017	3.4%	3.4%	3.6%
Mar 09, 2017	3.6%	3.6%	3.7%
Feb 09, 2017	3.7%	3.6%	3.5%	0.1%
Jan 10, 2017	3.5%	3.3%	3.3%	0.2%
Dec 09, 2016	3.3%	3.2%	3.2%	0.1%
Nov 08, 2016	3.2%	3.2%	3.2%
Oct 10, 2016	3.2%	3.2%	3.2%
Sep 09, 2016	3.2%	3.1%	3.1%	0.1%
Aug 09, 2016	3.1%	3.1%	3.1%
Jul 08, 2016	3.1%	3.3%	3.2%	-0.2%
Jun 09, 2016	3.3%	3.5%	3.5%	-0.2%
May 10, 2016	3.5%	3.5%	3.6%
Apr 08, 2016	3.6%	3.6%	3.7%
Mar 08, 2016	3.7%	3.8%	3.8%	-0.1%
Feb 09, 2016	3.8%	3.7%	3.7%	0.1%
Jan 08, 2016	3.7%	3.7%	3.4%
Dec 09, 2015	3.4%	3.3%	3.3%	0.1%
Nov 10, 2015	3.3%	3.3%	3.2%
Oct 08, 2015	3.2%	3.3%	3.2%	-0.1%
Sep 08, 2015	3.2%	3.1%	3.1%	0.1%
Aug 07, 2015	3.1%	3%	3.1%	0.1%
Jul 07, 2015	3.1%	3.3%	3.2%	-0.2%
Jun 09, 2015	3.2%	3.3%	3.3%	-0.1%
May 08, 2015	3.3%	3.3%	3.4%