Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

© Tatiana Kozachenko | Dreamstime.com In Switzerland, over the three months following 31 May 2020, there have been 11,306 recorded cases of Covid-19 and 91 deaths, a case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.8%. However, up to this date there were 30,862 cases and 1,920 deaths, a CFR of 6.2%. Why has Switzerland’s CFR fallen so steeply? A number of factors could explain the decline. Testing The first is testing. Recorded case numbers before 1 June 2020 are not comparable to...

Citing the economic effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, Switzerland’s Federal Council has decided to relax measures designed to curb the sale of the most polluting cars in Switzerland. © Malang Sheikh | Dreamstime.comIn July 2012, Switzerland introduced regulations on the CO2 emissions of new cars. The rules, which include average fleet emissions limits, apply to any vendor importing more than 49 vehicles into Switzerland. Any importer importing a fleet of 50 or more cars exceeding the...

With daily infection rates in France rising to levels not seen since its previous peak in April 2020, the Swiss government is considering modifying its quarantine risk list system to include certain French regions rather than the whole country. © Eq Roy | Dreamstime.comThe idea is being discussed as a potential way to avoid paralysing parts of Switzerland that rely on large daily flows of cross-border workers, the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Basel-City in particular. Geneva and France...

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ranked Switzerland number one in the world for innovation for the tenth consecutive year, according to its latest Global Innovation Index (GII) published this week. © Thomas Jurkowski | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland, Sweden, U.S., U.K and Netherlands lead the innovation ranking, which ranks more than 130 nations. The biggest change in Switzerland’s score this year related to its performance on patents. The GII shows year-on-year...

In the second quarter (Q2) of 2020, Switzerland’s GDP fell by –8.2 % after decreasing by –2.5 % in the previous quarter. © Michael Müller | Dreamstime.comGDP for Q2 2020 was 10.5% lower than Q4 2019. Domestic economic activity was severely restricted in the wake of the pandemic and the measures taken to contain it, said the government. However, Switzerland’s GDP decline remained limited when compared to the sharp recession experienced globally. Switzerland’s large pharmaceutical...

A recent survey by a Swiss union USS shows that average pay for journalists in Switzerland has barely risen for 14 years. © Maren Winter | Dreamstime.comIn 2006, on average (median) a journalist earned CHF 7,200 a month. By 2020, this figure had risen to CHF 7,333, an average annual increase of 0.13%, which amounts to less than CHF 10. Journalists working for Switzerland’s broadcaster RTS, which is largely funded by an annual fee levied on households and businesses, faired the best,...

Switzerland’s unemployment rate rose from 4.2% to 4.6% in the second quarter of 2020, according to a recent survey that measures unemployment more broadly than Switzerland’s official unemployment measure. © Suriel Ramirez Zaldivar | Dreamstime.comThe method used for these calculations is the one defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which includes all available job seekers – ILO definition of unemployment. The standard official Swiss measure includes only those...

Covid-19 is forecast to hit personal incomes by a total of around CHF 15 billion both this year and in 2021, according to the Basel-based research institute BAK Economics, reported Le Matin. © Bigpressphoto | Dreamstime.comSpread across Switzerland’s 8.6 million residents this comes out at around CHF 1,740 per person and CHF 2,830 per worker. BAK Economics expects significant declines in personal revenue in the form of lost salaries, lost freelance business and lower investment returns...

© Yulan | Dreamstime.com In the seven days to 10 July 2020, the reported number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections recorded in Switzerland was 589, a similar number to the week before, when 615 new cases were recorded. Over the weeks prior to this there were 251 and 172 new cases, according to worldinfometer.com. Much of the recent rise in infections is due to clusters of infections found among people going to nightclubs and bars. Late last week Switzerland’s Covid-19...

In 1999, Switzerland signed a deal with the EU allowing free movement of people between Switzerland and the bloc. The deal came into force in 2002. This led to a rise in immigration into Switzerland, which in turn eventually led to rising rents. © Andreaciox | Dreamstime.com However, since 2014 there has been a marked slowdown in EU immigration into Switzerland. In addition, a lot of rental homes have been built. The overall supply of rental properties now exceeds...