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As Switzerland’s population ages the number of people paid state pension is rising relative to the number of workers funding it. Since 2014, more has been paid out than has been paid in. © Germana Marengo | Dreamstime.comThe most effective way to fix this imbalance is to raise the pension age. If the average life expectancy of a retiree is 15 years, then raising the pension age by one year will cut the cost by nearly 7%. Switzerland is one of a few countries that still has a lower...

A recently published survey run by Gastrosuisse, a hotel and restaurant industry association, suggests that 18.4% of businesses in the sector have already closed down due to the business disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. © Ralf Liebhold | Dreamstime.com18.4% of the businesses polled reported that they had already closed with no plans to reopen. Without financial aid 23% reported that they will probably disappear. Only 34.9% said that they were certain they would reopen....

Swiss chocolate sales went into steep decline in 2020, according to ChocoSuisse, Switzerland’s chocolate industry association. © Phattha Intharakamhaeng | Dreamstime.comThe amount of chocolate produced in Switzerland in 2020 was 10% lower than in 2019 and sales revenue was down by 14.5%, a sharp drop. In 2020, Swiss chocolatiers produced around 180,000 tons, 20,000 tons less than the year before and sales fell by CHF 260 million to CHF 1.53 billion. The export business, which makes up...

A recent parliamentary vote on whether to issue a formal request to the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, to reopen restaurants on 22 March 2021, found a majority of 97 to 90, according to Le Matin. © Tetiana Soares | Dreamstime.comThe main parties supporting the demand were the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) and the PLR (FDP). The Socialist and Green parties were against it. The formal demand to the Federal Council stipulates: Increased testing and vaccinationAn end to the...

The economic impact of the Covid-​19 pandemic was unequal, hitting low-income households far harder than those on high incomes, according to a study published by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich. © Nikiforov Oleg | Dreamstime.comInfection rates rise with incomeMore people in the higher income range reported being infected with Covid-19 than those in lower income groups. Among those with incomes below CHF 4,000 (US$ 4,400), 4% said they had tested positive and a further 8%...

In 2020, the number of overnight stays in Swiss hotels fell by 40% to 23.7 million, a fall of 15.8 million nights compared to 2019. © Tanya Keisha | Dreamstime.comThe fall, driven by Covid-19, is the largest fall in overnight stays in Switzerland since the end of the 1950s, according to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office. Plummeting hotel stays were driven mainly by a large slump in foreign visitors. Hotel nights spent by Swiss tourists dropped by only 8.6% (-1.5 million)....

Swiss trade rose sharply in January 2021. However, one industry dominated and masked falls in other sectors. © Alexandr Blinov | Dreamstime.comAfter falling in December 2020, seasonally adjusted Swiss exports rose 5.4% to CHF 18.9 billion in January 2021, according to recently published figures. In addition, imports were up 3.3% to CHF 15.3 billion. 90% of the rise in exports was due to a rise in pharmaceutical exports, which rose by 9.7%. Exports were also up in the machine and...

After falling by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2020, average Swiss residential property prices have rebounded, rising in every quarter since to deliver an annual 2020 increase of 2.5%. © Stbernardstudio | Dreamstime.comAverage residential property prices rose by 1.4% in Q2, by 0.2% in Q3 and by 2.3% in the final quarter of 2020. Across the year, the prices of single family dwellings (+2.8%) rose more than the price of apartments (+2.2%). The biggest gainers were single family homes in...

The rate of unemployment in Switzerland in the 4th quarter of 2020 was 4.9%, up from 3.9% in the 4th quarter of 2019. The same figures for the EU were 6.6% (Q4 2109) and 7.5% (Q4 2020). © Sergiomonti | Dreamstime.comUnemployment rates were highest among those aged 15-24 (7.3%) and 25-39 (5.4%). Those aged 40-54 (4.6%) and 55-64 (3.9%) had the lowest rates. The statistics don’t cover workers older than 64. In the 4th quarter of 2020, Swiss nationals (3.9%) fared better than foreigners...

Switzerland’s federal accounts ended 2020 with a record-breaking deficit of CHF 15.8 billion. The deficit was caused by the pandemic. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comAn unexpected CHF 3.6 billion fall in revenue combined with net CHF 12.5 billion in largely unplanned expenses combined to take the overall result CHF 16.1 billion below the expected positive net result of CHF 0.3 billion to deliver a deficit of CHF 15.8 billion for the year. Pandemic-related expenditure amounted to CHF 14.7...