Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Zurich will get more international trains, Swiss employment news, and other latest events in our roundup on Wednesday.
Trains: Direct international connections from Zurich approved
On Tuesday, the cantonal legislature has accepted a motion filed by local deputies which calles for direct international trains to connect Zurich with major European cities, including Brussels, London, Madrid, Stockholm, and Prague.
The plan calls for more direct trains, including night ones, from Switzerland’s largest city “to as many European economic areas as possible”.
Local authorities have two years to come up with a new timetable.
READ MORE: UPDATED: The best websites for cross-Europe train travel
Switzerland has a booming job market
A new survey by the KOF economic research centre confirms that all is well with Swiss employment: for instance, 128,000 positions were vacant at the end of June — "by far the highest number of vacancies that has ever been counted on the Swiss labour market".
At the same time, “an enormous number of new full-time jobs were created”, KOF said.
And Swiss unemployment rate remains enviably low: it fell to 1.9 percent in September – the lowest level in over 20 years.
As a comparison, unemployment in the EU stood at over 6 percent during the same period.
Lack of training a major factor of poverty in Switzerland
More than half of social assistance recipients in 14 Swiss cities don’t have professional qualifications, according to a study published on Tuesday by the Cities Initiative for Social Policy.
Among those who rely on social assistance, 54.9 percent don’t have any training that would provide them with useful work skills, the study found.
On the positive side, “it appears that the number of social assistance recipients did not increase in 2021 compared to 2020. It stabilised, or even fell, in 11 of the 14 cities”.
READ MORE: MYTHBUSTER: Yes, Switzerland does have people living in poverty
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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Trains: Direct international connections from Zurich approved
On Tuesday, the cantonal legislature has accepted a motion filed by local deputies which calles for direct international trains to connect Zurich with major European cities, including Brussels, London, Madrid, Stockholm, and Prague.
The plan calls for more direct trains, including night ones, from Switzerland’s largest city “to as many European economic areas as possible”.
Local authorities have two years to come up with a new timetable.
READ MORE: UPDATED: The best websites for cross-Europe train travel
Switzerland has a booming job market
A new survey by the KOF economic research centre confirms that all is well with Swiss employment: for instance, 128,000 positions were vacant at the end of June — "by far the highest number of vacancies that has ever been counted on the Swiss labour market".
At the same time, “an enormous number of new full-time jobs were created”, KOF said.
And Swiss unemployment rate remains enviably low: it fell to 1.9 percent in September – the lowest level in over 20 years.
As a comparison, unemployment in the EU stood at over 6 percent during the same period.
Lack of training a major factor of poverty in Switzerland
More than half of social assistance recipients in 14 Swiss cities don’t have professional qualifications, according to a study published on Tuesday by the Cities Initiative for Social Policy.
Among those who rely on social assistance, 54.9 percent don’t have any training that would provide them with useful work skills, the study found.
On the positive side, “it appears that the number of social assistance recipients did not increase in 2021 compared to 2020. It stabilised, or even fell, in 11 of the 14 cities”.
READ MORE: MYTHBUSTER: Yes, Switzerland does have people living in poverty
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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