No. 162, May

The number of company bankruptcies in Switzerland continued to rise in March and, after a two-year low, has exceeded the pre-crisis levels of 2019 for the first time. Although this increase is broadly based across sectors and regions, a wave of bankruptcies remains unlikely. The boom in new business start-ups has flatlined recently.

As far as Swiss companies are concerned, the positive impact of their recovery from the pandemic is outweighing the adverse effects of the war in Ukraine. The KOF Business Situation Indicator rose in April to its highest level since recovering from the financial crisis in 2010/11.

At present, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is having to contend with above-average inflation, the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the considerable uncertainty arising from the war in Ukraine. In March, therefore, KOF and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) newspaper surveyed economists on their assessments of inflation and monetary policy in Switzerland.

A special survey conducted by KOF examines the wage expectations of Swiss companies from today until one year from now. A majority of firms in almost all sectors expect to see wage growth of 1 per cent or more.