The labour market continued to weaken at year-end. Seasonally adjusted joblessness was up 1,192 or 1.2 percent on the month at 99,882. This was a steep enough increase to lift the unemployment rate a tick to 2.2 percent, matching the market consensus and its highest post since April 2022. Unadjusted, the number of people out of work increased fully 8,848 or 9.0 percent to 106,859, boosting this rate from 2.1 percent to 2.3 percent, now 0.2 percentage points above its level a year ago.

By contrast, vacancies gained a little ground, advancing 160 or 0.4 percent to 45,211. However, this did little to reverse a near-6 percent drop in November and, in unadjusted terms, the latest print was still down fully 27.0 versus December 2022.

Overall, today's update remains consistent with a loosening trend in the Swiss labour market, a development that will not unsettle an SNB that remains to be convinced inflation is fully under control. The December data trim the Swiss RPI to minus 8 and the RPI-P to 6. In general, economic activity is running much as the forecasters expected.

The seasonally adjusted rate is expected to have edged up a tick to 2.2 percent at year-end.

The unemployment rate measures the number of unemployed as a percentage of the labour force. Both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted monthly data are provided.

Like the employment data, unemployment data help to gauge the current state as well as the future direction of the economy. Employment data are categorized by sectors. This sector data can go a long way in helping investors determine in which economic sectors they intend to invest.

By tracking the jobs data, investors can sense the degree of tightness in the job market. If employment is tight it is a good bet that interest rates will rise and bond and stock prices will fall. In contrast, when job growth is slow or negative, then interest rates are likely to decline - boosting up bond and stock prices in the process.