Switzerland’s economy grew by 1.6% in real terms in 2025, compared with 1.5% in 2024. The broadly steady pace of expansion was driven mainly by strong domestic demand, which rose by 2.5%. Investment was particularly buoyant, increasing by 3.5%, reported the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The 2025 figure is slightly below Switzerland’s recent long-run norm. […]
Swiss labour market keeps growing despite skills shortage
Employment in Switzerland continued to rise in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Most of the new jobs were in services, while the number of vacancies was also higher than a year earlier. At the end of June, companies outside agriculture employed 5.698m people. Of these, 2.388m worked part-time. Women […]
Swiss unions want a 2% pay rise. Employers are unconvinced
With inflation running at just 0.4%, the battle over wages in 2027 may be as much about productivity growth as lost purchasing power. In any case Switzerland’s wage negotiations for 2027 are shaping up to be contentious. Travail.Suisse, a trade-union federation, is demanding an across-the-board pay rise of 2%. The Swiss Employers’ Association, by contrast, […]
Switzerland’s inflation problem is that it barely has one
Consumer prices declined in July, underscoring how different Switzerland’s inflation story is from much of the world. Over the month the consumer-price index fell by 0.1% from June, leaving prices just 0.4% higher than a year earlier, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Core inflation, which strips out fresh and seasonal products, energy and […]
Swiss drug discounts not being passed on is “organised theft”
A report by Switzerland’s Federal Audit Office (SFAO) showing that most discounts on medicines are not passed on to insured patients, as required by law, has prompted an angry response from parliamentarians. Speaking to RTS on Thursday, Baptiste Hurni, a Socialist Party MP, described the practice as organised theft. According to the SFAO report, published […]
Swiss home battery sales are booming. The maths still doesn’t add up
Switzerland’s residential battery market is growing fast. Around half of new photovoltaic installations are now paired with storage, according to Swissolar. Falling battery prices, lower payments for surplus solar power and the prospect of more flexible electricity tariffs are all helping to drive demand. But popularity should not be confused with profitability. In Switzerland, solar […]
Swiss public-transport fares to rise by less than expected
Swiss public-transport fares will rise by an average of 3.6% in December 2026, less than the 3.9% increase originally planned. The reduction follows negotiations between the industry and Switzerland’s price regulator. The price of a second-class GA travelcard, which provides unlimited travel on much of the Swiss public-transport network, will rise by CHF 100 to […]
Mental illness remains the leading cause of disability-welfare claims in Switzerland
The number of people receiving vocational-rehabilitation support through Switzerland’s disability-insurance system rose again in 2025. Mental illness remained the leading cause of disability, especially among young people. Some 61,000 people received vocational-rehabilitation support, the Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) said on Monday. That was 3,300 more than in 2024 and more than three times as […]
How the Big Mac Index overstates the Swiss franc’s strength
For 40 years, The Economist has indulged in what it refers to as “burgernomics”: a worldwide comparison of the price of a Big Mac. The McDonald’s Big Mac is remarkably consistent wherever you eat it, so you might expect its price to be consistent too. But it is not—and, according to the publisher, that reveals […]
Moving to France – a cheaper life across the border
While Switzerland is debating how to curb immigration, some of its own residents are considering a move in the opposite direction. According to a survey commissioned by Comparis, a price-comparison website, nearly one-third of adults in French-speaking Switzerland could imagine moving to France. Some 4.2% are already looking for a home there—equivalent, by the company’s […]
