Number of Swiss out of work dips in July versus June

The number of people out of work in Switzerland eased in July from June but was still up nearly 53% compared with the year-ago month, data released on Monday showed.

The unemployment rate remained steady from June at a non-seasonally adjusted 3.2%, with 148,870 people registered as jobless, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said.

SECO also gave an update on the shorter working hours scheme the government pushed to limit job losses linked to the coronavirus pandemic. In May, 890,890 people worked shorter hours, down 17% from April, while nearly 110,000 companies were using the measure, down 16%.

The government had overestimated the amount of short-time work employers would use to cushion the blow of decreasing demand, Finance Minister Ueli Maurer said last month.