Swiss jobless rate rises in March, only small coronavirus impact so far

The Swiss unemployment rate rose to 2.9% in March, from 2.5% in February, as the government's efforts to avoid new coronavirus-related layoffs with a shorter working hour scheme seemed to be paying off so far. The Alpine country, where 584 people have died of COVID-19 respiratory disease so far and almost 22,000 tested positives, has closed shops, restaurants, and bars throughout the country to keep a lid on infections.

The number of registered unemployed increased to 135,624 in March, from 117,822 in February, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said on Tuesday. A quarter of Switzerland's workers, around 1.3 million people, had been put on shorter hours at the end of last week, the government said on Saturday.