During its session of 13th May 2020, the Federal Council decided to create a national data science competence centre. This centre will support the Federal Administration in solving complex tasks. Data science is also becoming increasingly important for the public administration.

Switzerland dedicated CHF 22.6 billion to research and development (R&D) in 2017, 2% more than in 2015, the year of the last survey. Enterprises remained the main producers of research accounting for more than two thirds of expenditure.

Neuchâtel, 4 June 2018 (FSO) - In the 1st quarter 2018, total employment (number of jobs) rose by 1.6% in comparison with the same quarter a year earlier (+0.6% with previous quarter, +1.7% in full-time equivalents). The Swiss economy counted 77 000 more jobs and 11 000 more vacancies than in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. There was also an increase in the employment outlook indicator (+2.0%) and difficulty in recruiting personnel (+1.4 percentage points). These are some of the findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Neuchâtel, 15 February (FSO) - The number of employed persons in Switzerland rose by 0.6% between the 4th quarters of 2016 and 2017. During the same period, the unemployment rate as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) declined from 4.6% to 4.5%. The EU's unemployment rate decreased from 8.3% to 7.4%. These are some of the results of the Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) conducted by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Official statistics can benefit from new analysis methods arising from its data innovation strategy. The automation of certain tasks, especially data preparation, seems to be particularly promising. Although the first results from the FSO's pilot projects are encouraging, according to an initial assessment published on the "experimental statistics" microsite, they still need fine-tuning before they can be fully implemented in ongoing production.

Gender parity in research has not yet been achieved in Europe, even though the participation of women in scientific activities is steadily increasing. In Switzerland, women are under-represented at all levels of scientific careers.

Neuchâtel, 17 May 2018 (FSO) - The number of employed persons in Switzerland rose by 0.9% between the 1st quarter 2017 and the 1st quarter 2018. During the same period, the unemployment rate as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) remained stable at 5.2%. The EU's unemployment rate fell from 8.3% to 7.4%. These are some of the results from the Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS).

Neuchâtel, 27.11.2017 (FSO) - In the 3rd quarter 2017, total employment (number of jobs) rose by 0.8% in comparison with the same quarter a year earlier (+0.3% with the previous quarter). In full-time equivalents, employment in the same period rose by 0.5%. The Swiss economy counted 4000 more vacancies than in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (+7.5%) and the employment outlook indicator is also indicating an upward trend (+0.6%). These are some of the findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).