Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

By January 2018, the number receiving disability welfare in Switzerland had dropped to 217,200, 40,300 fewer than in 2006 when the number reached a record 257,500. © Andrea De Martin | Dreamstime.com Switzerland’s Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) attributes the reduction to an occupational rehabilitation programme started in 2008, and disability welfare fraud investigations. In 2017, 40,800 disability beneficiaries were eligible for the occupational rehabilitation programme, designed to...

Swiss salaries have risen according to a recently published report by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office. © Disqdr | Dreamstime.com The median gross monthly salary was CHF 6,5021 in 2016, CHF 313 higher than in 2014. 50% of Swiss workers earned more than this and 50% earned less. CHF 6,502 a month is an annual salary of CHF 78,024 (US$ 78,200). The extra CHF 313 is a 5% increase over two years. In real terms, after adjusting for inflation, it represents a rise of close to 7% – over 2015...

Switzerland’s Federal Council, or cabinet, plans to increase the maximum annual deduction for child care costs to CHF 25,000 per child, up from CHF 12,100. © Ekaterina Pokrovsky | Dreamstime.com This would allow parents to deduct up to this amount from their income for federal tax purposes but would not affect canton and commune taxes. Deductions could not exceed the amount spent. The plan aims to encourage more parents to work, particularly highly qualified parents. Some parts of the Swiss...

In collaboration with the Swiss union Unia, Switzerland’s Young Socialists have launched a protest against the exploitation of interns. © Loganban | Dreamstime.com To get on the career ladder, many young people feel compelled to take internships offering little or no pay. The Young Socialists are demanding interns be better paid. Recent data from the Federal Statistical Office shows that 23% of young workers (15-24) are on short-term contracts, 41% of them interns. Unpaid internships are a...

The cliché of Swiss trains always being on time is challenged by data published on the website opentransportdata.swiss. © Arne9001 | Dreamstime.com Analysis of this data by 20 Minuten, shows the most frequently delayed trains arrive from Italy. Mendrisio, near the Italian border in the canton of Ticino, was the worst performing station with 30% of trains delayed by 3 minutes or more. Italian delays also affect Swiss trains from Domodossola and Brig. The next stations on the train tardiness...

Switzerland has the world’s most expensive meat according to a survey compiled by Caterwings in Germany. The survey, which looks at meat prices in 52 countries, ranks Swiss prices at the top across all meat categories. © Marian Mocanu | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge On average, Swiss shoppers pay 142% more than the average across all meat categories. Chicken, the meat with the highest price premium, is 222% more...

Swiss inflation reappeared in February 2018 and has continued. According to the Federal Statistical Office, inflation was 0.2% in April. Since the beginning of 2018, prices have risen 0.9%. © Björn Wylezich | Dreamstime.com Jan-Egbert Sturm of the KOF Swiss Economic Institute says it shows the Swiss economy is doing well, and that inflation is close to what is “normal” in Switzerland. When asked by CNN money what the Swiss National Bank’s response might be, Sturm was reluctant to guess at...

Switzerland has the world’s most expensive meat according to a survey compiled by Caterwings in Germany. The survey, which looks at meat prices in 52 countries, ranks Swiss prices at the top across all meat categories. © Marian Mocanu | Dreamstime.com On average, Swiss shoppers pay 142% more than the average across all meat categories. Chicken, the meat with the highest price premium, is 222% more expensive in Switzerland than the average. Next are lamb (+174%), beef (+149%), pork (+115%) and...

This week, ch-direct, an association of public transport providers that sets ticket prices, announced there would be no ticket price rises in 2019. Instead the prices of some tickets will fall slightly on 1 June 2018. © Sergiomonti | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge The price small cuts on standard fares in June relate to the shift from 8.0% to 7.7% VAT at the beginning of the year. Inflation this year is forecast at...

In 1939, Pilatus, a small aircraft maintenance company for the Swiss Air Force was founded in Stans in the canton of Nidwalden. By 1944 it had produced its first aircraft: the Pilatus SB-2 Pelican. Pilatus Porter PC-6 © Pilatus Aircraft Ltd However, it wasn’t until 1959 that Pilatus really took off with the launch of the Pilatus Porter PC-6. The PC-6 was so good at taking off from short rough runways it was sometimes used as a substitute for helicopters. It was a global hit. Airlines as far...