During the first quarter of 2022 the number of people employed in Switzerland rose by 1.7% and the unemployment rate, as defined by the International Labor Organisation (ILO) fell from 5.8% to 4.6%.
![](https://i0.wp.com/lenews.ch/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Working_©-Heying-Hua-_-Dreamstime.com_.jpg?resize=602%2C400&ssl=1)
In addition, the average number of hours worked by those employed rose by 2.8%.
The overall rate of unemployment in Switzerland by the end of the quarter (4.6%) was well below the rate across the EU (6.5%).
A total of 5.1 million people were working out of a population of 8.6 million. The sharpest rise in employment was among foreigners whose workforce participation rose by 4.1% compared to Swiss nationals whose participation rose 0.5%.
Unemployment among younger workers (15 to 24) also declined from 8.8% to 7.2%. Across the EU 14% were unemployed among this age group at the end of the first quarter of 2022.
More on this:
FSO press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.