Seasonally adjusted joblessness increased by 1,014 or 0.8 percent in November to 121,808. However, this was a small enough rise to leave the unemployment rate unchanged at 2.6 percent, slightly less than the market consensus (2.7 percent) and matching its highest mark since September 2021. Unadjusted, the rate was also 2.6 percent and still 0.5 percentage points above its level a year ago.

Looking ahead, vacancies increased 3.4 percent on the month to 36,928, an unadjusted drop of 17.7 percent from November 2023 after a 24.9 percent fall in October.

Today's report suggests that the labour market conditions are easing, albeit only slowly. Today's update will not stop the SNB cutting its policy rate by at lest 25 basis points, and quite possibly 50 basis points. It also lifts the Swiss RPI to minus 5 and the RPI-P to 3, both gauges showing overall economic activity performing much as expected.

The jobless rate is seen at 2.7 percent versus 2.6 percent in October.

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.