Jobless figure rises again in January

Unemployment increased again in Switzerland in January, with 175,765 people registered out of work at the end of the month.

The jobless rate rose by 0.1 per cent from December to 4.5%, the highest since March 1998.

During the first month of 2010, 47,335 or 36.9 per cent more people were out of work compared to January 2009 when the unemployment rate was still 3.3 per cent, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) which released the latest figures on Monday.