The Swiss Economic Outlook

The Swiss economy will shrink by 2.2% this year, a much deeper recession than first forecast by its government.

Previously a 0.8% drop in GDP had been forecast. The unemployment rate in Switzerland is likely to climb to 3.8% this year, rising again next year to 5.2%. The Swiss economy has been particularly hard hit by the global financial crisis especially with regards to the downturn in the US and EU.

Businesses in the country have been hard hit. One of the most famous, the chocolate maker Lindt, has said that it will miss growth targets this year as customers move away from premium chocolates (income elastic products). The firm is well know for its production of chocolate Easter bunnies wrapped in gold foil but sales are likely to only increase by between 2% and 5% this year, short of its target of between 6% and 8%.

Earlier in the week, Switzerland said that in line with OECD rules it will now respond to overseas requests for information in cases of suspected tax evasion, and not just tax fraud. It is estimated that Switzerland’s banks hold $2trillion of global wealth held abroad.

The orginal BBC article can be found here.