"Thanks to the minimum exchange rate the franc was stable in 2012, and since the start of 2013 has lost some of its strength"
- Analysts at Credit Suisse Group AG
The number of employed people in Switzerland fell less than predicted in the last three months of 2012, the report by Swiss Statistics showed Tuesday. The employment in the country decreased to 4.116M in the fourth quarter of 2012, down from 4.122M registered the previous quarter, however, above analysts' expectations, which called for 4.107M. The employment barometer indicators published quarterly are showing sustained job growth and pointing that the labour market is still gaining momentum. However, the job growth rate is falling in the secondary sector, while the employment outlook indicator and the number of job vacancies both slowed in the fourth quarter of 2012.
"Thanks to the minimum exchange rate the franc was stable in 2012, and since the start of 2013 has lost some of its strength," said analysts at Credit Suisse Group AG. "Simultaneously with the depreciation, industry appears to have finally passed the trough," they said.
"We've seen a net decline but, of course, the month had two working days less," said Alessandro Bee, an economist at Sarasin. "Adjusted for this, there was still a drop but not as strong. This reflects the recession in Europe."
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