No. 100, October

In September, the KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss private economy rose for the third consecutive time, albeit recently to a smaller extent (see G 17). Nevertheless, the current survey results confirm a continuation of the upward trend. The Swiss economy is facing significantly less headwind in late summer.

The most important German forecasting institutes draw up the so-called Joint Diagnosis for the German Federal Government – a prestigious task, in which KOF is also involved.

Development aid: thinking of this word, one sees people telling others how to till their fields, or helping them build schools and hospitals. But development aid is so much more. KOF employees are also dedicated development workers, or rather advisors – in particular in the areas of surveys and forecasts.

There is a lot of talk about the green transformation, but just how widespread are energy-efficient technologies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland? Between 2012 and 2014, more energy-efficient technologies were introduced in Germany and Austria than in Switzerland. This is detrimental on two counts since environmentally friendly innovations often also make sound economic sense.

Interaction between key actors in the labour and the education system is a crucial factor in determining the success of an economy. Up until now, this has been more of an assumption than an empirically substantiated thesis. KOF has now investigated the strength of the link between actors in the two systems in the form of an international comparative study.

The jobless statistics and SECO’s registered unemployment statistics show a very similar trend if the count only includes the unemployed population that is registered with an employment office. With the number of long-term unemployed rising, the jobless statistics are going up – a phenomenon that the SECO statistics do not reflect since many unemployed are not registered with a job centre.