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Consumer sentiment among Swiss households is improving, according to Switzerland’s economic affairs office (SECO). © Rosaria De Marco | Dreamstime.comIn April 2021, the consumer sentiment index climbed back to -7 points after reaching a low of -40 in early 2020. The level of -7 is close to the pre-crisis level of early 2020 and close to its long term average of -5. The primary reason for the rise in consumer sentiment is a significant improvement in expectations regarding general...

On 6 May 2021, SWISS announced a plan to cut jobs and the size of its fleet. © Boarding1now | Dreamstime.comDue to the continuing global coronavirus pandemic and structural changes in the market, the company expects a 20% structural decline in demand. In response, the airline plans to cut the fleet it had in 2019 by 15% and bring its personnel numbers down by 1,700 – before the pandemic SWISS employed 9,500 people. The company described the cuts as unavoidable. Much of this staff...

Last Wednesday, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced that old Swiss banknotes would no longer be legal tender from Friday, 30 April 2021. The short notice period has generated complaints and confusion. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comThe eighth series of Swiss banknotes did not lose their value, however, they are no longer an accepted means of exchange. The only places they can still be used are at Swiss Rail and Swiss Post until the end of October 2021. They can however be exchanged at...

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Some agencies in Geneva are exploiting the city’s tight property market by charging people money just to view apartments, according to a report by RTS. © Bogdan Lazar | Dreamstime.comA practice described as parasitic by ASLOCA, a rental association, involves an agency contacting those who have placed adverts for vacant apartments and offering them their services. The agency promises to find tenants at no cost to the advertiser if they take down their advert. It then makes its money by...

On 30 April 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office released salary data for 2020 which showed a 1.5% rise in real salaries compared to 2019. © Suwat Supachavinswad | Dreamstime.comIn 2020, a 0.8% rise in nominal salaries was boosted by inflation of -0.7% bringing the total increase in the real average Swiss salary to 1.5%. The last time salaries rose this much was in 2015 when the real increase was 1.5%. In both 2015 and 2020 negative inflation of -1.1% and -0.7% significantly...

From Friday 30 April 2021, old Swiss bank notes will no longer be legal tender. This means they can no longer be used as a valid means of payment. © Jean-michel Feinen | Dreamstime.comThe notes affected are old 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 1,000 Swiss franc notes. From 30 April 2021, the only places that will accept these notes are Swiss Rail and Swiss Post, who will accept them until 30 October 2021. After 30 October 2021, the only places that will accept these notes are the cash desks...

Recently published statistics show that 36% of homes are owned by those who live in them, a rate that falls to 12% in municipalities with more than 100,000 residents. Lausanne © Ocskay Mark | Dreamstime.comSwiss municipalities with the highest rates of home ownership (37%) have between 10,000 and 15,000 residents, a rate exceeding the smallest municipalities of less than 10,000 residents (31%). At a cantonal level, the cantons with the lowest rates of home ownership were Geneva...

In 2020, total reserves held by Swiss health insurance companies reached CHF 11.3 billion, a level equivalent to 203% of the minimum required, according to RTS. © Andrey Popov | Dreamstime.comExcess reserves jumped recently after the government cut the minimum reserve level by one third, part of a move designed to encourage health insurers to align premiums more closely with costs. The government wants to reduce the chance of insurance companies dipping into reserves to support the...

On 14 April 2021, Switzerland’s federal government announced it had spent CHF 14.2 billion more that it had collected in revenue in 2020. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comThe loss represents the federal government’s consolidated excess expenditure for the year and is linked to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the statement. An additional CHF 16.8 billion was spent as a result of the pandemic. Consolidated accounts include the results of companies linked to the...