No. 172, April

There is currently much discussion about developments in the local real-estate and rental housing markets. This article adds to the debate by classifying the Swiss construction sector during the current period of upheaval.

2022 will go down in history as an exceptional year for labour markets in Switzerland and many other European countries. KOF is forecasting that employment will increase by 1.5 per cent this year and 1 per cent next year.

The energy crisis has turned out to be less severe than feared – partly thanks to the mild winter. However, high inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical risks continue to weigh on the global economy. This situation is compounded by the risk of disruption in the banking sector.

The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss private sector remained almost unchanged in March (see chart G 13). It was primarily the manufacturing sector that presented an obstacle to any improvement. The economy therefore failed to gain any real momentum.

KOF Director Jan-Egbert Sturm explains why the rescue of Credit Suisse was the right thing to do and assesses the macroeconomic consequences of its takeover by UBS.