Enquiries, Sources – Unemployment Statistics (seco-based)Overview
| Short description | Swiss unemployment statistics have been around since 1936. Nowadays, unemployment statistics are maintained by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (seco). These statistics indicate the number of registered unemployed, the number of newly registered unemployed and the number of formerly registered unemployed. Since 1997, unemployment figures have included an indication of the number of registered jobseekers. |
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| Responsible agency | State Secretariat for Economic Affairs |
| Responsible person and information | Clito Roffler, 031 322 28 64, clito.roffler@seco.admin.ch |
| Conducted by | State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (seco) |
| Legal basis | Swiss Federal Ordinance of 30 June 1993 |
| Type of enquiry | Register-based statistics. Data on registered jobseekers (including both unemployed and employed persons) are gathered by regional job placement offices. Data from the cantons are then pooled together at the national level so that they can be used to produce various tables a few days after the reference day. |
| Statistical basis and units of enquiry | Resident population |
| Features registered | The following information is gathered for unemployment statistics: sex, age, domicile, nationality/type of residence permit, type of unemployment (partial/full unemployment), duration of unemployment, previous employment situation, economic branch, job category, previous job held. Since it is an exhaustive survey, any combination of these variables can be used for unemployment statistics. Seco can provide specific comparisons upon request. |
| Degree of regionalisation | Switzerland, main regions, cantons, communes |
| Date survey conducted | Last working day of each month |
| Periodicity | Monthly |
| Available since | 1936 |
| Statistical quality of data | Since Seco statistics are based on an exhaustive survey of registered unemployed and jobseekers, very detailed tables can be generated. |
Last updated: 23.10.2009