The labour market weakened slightly further in mid-quarter. Seasonally adjusted joblessness was up 927 or 0.9 percent on the month at 102,328. However, the increase was not steep enough to boost the unemployment rate which again held steady at 2.2 percent, in line with the market consensus and so still matching its highest post since April 2022. Unadjusted, the number of people out of work fell some 1,296 or 1.1 percent to 111,879, reducing the rate from 2.5 percent to 2.4 percent. However, the rate was still 0.3 percentage points above its level a year ago, matching the gap posted in January.

Vacancies continued to decline, February seeing a hefty 3,213 or 7.2 percent slide on the month to 41,249. This equated to an unadjusted yearly fall of 21.2 percent, up from January's 18.7 percent.

Overall, today's update remains consistent with a loosening trend in the Swiss labour market, a development that should go down well at the SNB as it seeks to secure inflation sustainably below 2 percent. The February data also put the Swiss RPI at 7 and the RPI-P at exactly zero. In general, economic activity is running much as the forecasters expected.

The seasonally adjusted rate is seen unchanged at 2.2 percent.

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.