Tag Archives: Human interest

During 2020, 10.3% of Switzerland’s population moved. The average distance moved was 12.5 km. However, the likelihood of movement and the distance moved varied significantly by age and nationality. Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.comPeople in the age band between 20 and 40 were the most likely to move. There was also a small bump in numbers between the ages of 62 and 65. Roughly 27% of 25 year olds moved in 2020, compared to only 2% of 94 year olds. The most mobile canton was Basel-City....

According to a recent report by the Federal Housing Office (OFL) there are an estimated 2,200 homeless residents in Switzerland and another 8,000 at risk of losing their homes. Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.comThe authors of the report collected information from 616 municipalities across 22 cantons to compile the data. 616 municipalities covers around 28% of Switzerland’s total. Reasons often cited for homelessness included overspending, debt, drugs and social factors associated...

The percentage of women in senior management positions at companies listed on the Swiss SMI and SMIM indexes rose from 13% in 2020 to 19% in 2021. © Barbara Helgason | Dreamstime.comThe rise reflects an increase in the number of women being nominated for these positions in 2021. During the year 4 out of 10 nominees were women, according to a study by the placement agency Russel Reynolds Association. Most of the newcomers (92%) were women from the US, UK, Germany and France. SMI...

In response to rising welfare costs, Switzerland’s Federal Council has put forward a proposal to cut the amounts paid to non-EU immigrants in Switzerland, reported RTS. © Arsty | Dreamstime.comBetween 2010 and 2019, the cost of welfare in Switzerland rose by CHF 0.9 billion to CHF 2.8 billion (+47%), straining the finances of some cantons and municipalities. The Federal Council has put forward a proposal to contain this rising cost and to encourage better integration into the workforce....

A 4-day work week on 100% pay has become a reality at some small businesses in Switzerland, reports RTS. © Marek Uliasz | Dreamstime.comAndreas Ott, the owner of a small graphic design studio in the canton of Aargau told the SonntagsZeitung that his clients reported no issues with staff taking Fridays off. Ott introduced the concept several years ago before he became a father. Since then the office has been closed on Fridays. He says the shorter week reduced revenue but not by 20%....

In Switzerland, the official state pension age is 65 for men and 64 for women. Government plans to make the retirement age 65 for both men and women have met with resistance from groups fighting against gender discrimination in Switzerland. © Ammentorp | Dreamstime.comThe change would not affect women about to retire, and those born between 1960 and 1968 would receive some extra compensatory pension payments. Groups against the move argue that the extra year of state pension women...

Switzerland is the highest rated country in the latest HSBC expat ranking published this week, a position held for the last three years. © minnystock | Dreamstime.com91% of the expats surveyed living in Switzerland said their living environment was better than it was before moving. The average on this measure across all expats questioned was 67%. After moving, 86% said they felt safer, another of Switzerland’s strong points among expats. In addition, nearly 9 out of 10 expats living...

Currently, the Swiss supermarket Migros does not sell alcoholic drinks in its stores. Gottlieb Duttweiler, the retailer’s founder, instituted the policy to promote public health when the company was started in 1925. © Tea | Dreamstime.comHowever, this autumn, the management of the cooperative is planning to vote on whether to allow alcohol on to the the company’s shelves for the first time, according to watson.ch and Le Matin Dimanche. Migros’ no-alcohol rule is already fraying at the...

This week, Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of raising the official retirement age for women. © Lightfieldstudiosprod | Dreamstime.comIn Switzerland, the retirement age for women has long been 64, one year less than the retirement age of 65 for men, according to RTS. The parliamentary vote, of 124 versus 69 in favour, follows a vote in the upper house that also favoured the change. Opposition from politicians on the left was insufficient to prevent the recent parliamentary...

Statistics from Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office show a dramatic fall in the number of crimes during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. © Releon8211 | Dreamstime.comAcross all of 2020, 421,678 crimes were recorded, 2.4% fewer than the year before. Drug crimes (-9%), immigration crimes (-12%) and burglaries (-10%) were all down. At the same time violent crimes rose 3%, in particular serious acts of violence (+9%), which were driven up by suicide attempts (+22%), rape (+5%)...