The Swiss Labour Market Barometer is a monthly leading indicator based on a survey of labour market experts from selected employment centres in 22 cantons.
Swiss Labour Market Barometer slightly improves at the end of the year
In December 2022, the Swiss Labour Market Barometer reached a level of 99.0 percentage points, therefore slightly improving compared with November (98.3 percentage points).
"Labour market experts at the RAVs still expect a slight rise in unemployment (seasonally adjusted) in the next three months and a minimal decline in employment (seasonally adjusted). This outlook is consistent with the December forecast of the federal government's expert group, according to which the war in Ukraine and the associated impact on commodity prices is expected to weaken economic growth in 2023," says Oliver Schärli, head of the Labour market/unemployment insurance division at SECO.
Slightly improved outlook for both registered unemployment and employment
At 98.7 (registered unemployment, seasonally adjusted) and 99.3 (employment, seasonally adjusted), the outlook for both components of the Labour Market Barometer was slightly up in December versus the previous month.
Methodology
The Swiss Labour Market Barometer is a monthly leading indicator based on a survey of labour market experts from selected employment centres in 22 cantons. The survey has been conducted since May 2021 by SECO in collaboration with the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Germany and the European Labour Market Barometer.
While component A of the barometer signals the development of the seasonally adjusted unemployment figures for the next three months, component B forecasts employment trends. The average of the components ‘unemployment’ and ‘employment’ constitutes the total value of the barometer. This indicator thus provides an outlook on the overall development of the labour market. The scale ranges from 90 (very poor development) to 110 (very good development).
European Labour Market Barometer
The European Labour Market Barometer has been conducted since June 2018 together with the public employment offices in participating countries and the IAB. Currently, 18 countries take part in the survey. These include: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Belgium-DG, Belgium-Flanders, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium-Wallonia.
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