Xinhua News Agency, Geneva, May 7 (Reporter Chen Junxia Li Ye) The Swiss Federal Economic Affairs Secretariat issued a report on the 7th. Due to the new crown epidemic, the unemployment rate in Switzerland rose from 2.9% in the previous month to 3.3% in April The highest point since March 2017.
The report said that as of the end of April, a total of 153,000 people were registered as unemployed in Switzerland, an increase of nearly 18,000 from March and an increase of 46,000 from the same period last year.
The Swiss Federal Secretariat of Economic Affairs said that the new crown epidemic will continue to affect the economy. It is expected that the Swiss unemployment rate may rise to 4% to 5% by the end of this year, and the number of unemployed may exceed 200,000. The economic losses caused by unemployment in 2020 may reach 20 billion Swiss francs (approximately US $ 20.5 billion).
According to data released recently by the Swiss Federal Government, a total of 1.92 million people in Switzerland are currently applying for "partial unemployment" subsidies, equivalent to 37% of the entire working population.
The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health said on the 7th that as of that day, a total of 30,126 confirmed cases were registered in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, an increase of 66 cases from the previous day; there were 1,518 death cases in both countries.
The Liechtenstein Health Department has reported a total of 82 confirmed cases, including 1 death.
Switzerland and Liechtenstein have close cooperation in the health sector, and the Swiss new crown epidemic statistics often cover the latter.