The labour market cooled a little in mid-quarter as seasonally adjusted joblessness rose 1,831 or 1.6 percent on the month to 116,468. However, the increase was not large enough to impact the unemployment rate which held steady at July's 2.5 percent, in line with the market consensus and matching its highest level since October 2021. Unadjusted, the number of people out of work climbed 3,638 or 3.4 percent to 111,354, a steep enough gain to lift the rate a tick to 2.4 percent, some 0.4 percentage points above its mark a year ago.

Meantime, seasonally adjusted vacancies rose 706 or 2.0 percent on the month to 34,954, equating with an unadjusted yearly drop of 23.5 percent versus 25.5 percent last time.

While the uptick in vacancies hints at some improvement in the outlook, the August report shows overall labour market conditions continuing to deteriorate. This point that will not be wasted on the SNB when it announces its latest decision regarding its policy rate later this month. Today's report puts the Swiss RPI at 14 and the RPI-P at 35, both measures still showing overall economic activity running somewhat ahead of market forecasts.

The adjusted rate is expected to be unchanged at the 2.5 percent level to which it rose in July.

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.