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Switzerland — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Switzerland, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
4.87%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · +168.0% since 1991
Unemployment for Switzerland was 4.87% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 5.01% in 2021. The lowest was 1.82% in 1991 (about 2.7× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 2.94% per year.
Switzerland ranks 105 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 56%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so Switzerland sits below it. It peaked in 2021 and has fallen 3% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 1%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
4.87%
First (1991)
1.82%
Change
+168.0%
Highest
5.01%
in 2021
Lowest
1.82%
in 1991
Average
3.97%
Annual growth (CAGR)
2.94%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.87% |
| 2024 | 4.34% |
| 2023 | 4.04% |
| 2022 | 4.12% |
| 2021 | 5.01% |
| 2020 | 4.82% |
| 2019 | 4.39% |
| 2018 | 4.71% |
| 2017 | 4.8% |
| 2016 | 4.92% |
| 2015 | 4.8% |
| 2014 | 4.83% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.