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INCOME

Rich getting richer in Sweden

It pays to build a family in Sweden—and being young with a high income doesn’t hurt either.

Rich getting richer in Sweden

According to new figures from Statistics Sweden (SCB), the standard of living for Swedish households is expected to increase by 13 percent between 2005 and 2008.

However, there are significant differences in the level of improvement depending on age, sex, income, and type of household.

Incomes of those in the highest bracket are set to rise by 21 percent, compared with an increase of only 6 percent for households in lowest income bracket.

On average, cohabitating couples and families will see a higher increase in their standard of living (13 percent) in comparison to singles (10 percent).

And men appear to be faring twice as well as women in terms of earning power.

According to SCB’s numbers, men can expect an average income boost of 12 percent by the end of 2008, whereas women’s incomes will go up by only 6 percent.

The outlook is less rosy for seniors, particularly women over 74, who are expected to see their incomes rise by only 2 percent.

The study also finds sharp declines in unemployment and in the number of sick days taken by Swedish workers.

Between 2005 and 2008, the number of unemployed Swedes dropped 31.9 percent.

The number of Swedes in labor market programmes fell by 22.8 percent.

And the 50,1000 sick days expected to be taken by Swedish workers in 2008 represents a decline of more than 25 percent from the 67,145 days taken in 2005.

EMPLOYMENT

Almost one in ten live in poverty in Switzerland: Report

More than eight percent of Switzerland’s population live in poverty, while 12 percent struggle to make ends meet.

Almost one in ten live in poverty in Switzerland: Report
A number if people in Switzerland can't make the ends meet. Photo by Depositphotos

A study released by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Thursday shows that 8.7 percent of Switzerland’s public – around 735,000 people – live in poverty, which is defined at 2,279 francs per month on average for a single person, and 3,976 francs per month for two adults and two children.

When adjusted for purchasing power, this threshold is the second-highest in Europe, topped only by Luxembourg.

 

The numbers are for 2019, so the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is not yet included in the data.

The poverty rate in Switzerland is the highest it has been since 2014, the study found. 

Most financial difficulties were experienced by foreign nationals, people living in single-parent households, people without training, and those living in households impacted by unemployment, FSO reports.

Here are some of the study’s other findings:

  • For the 10 percent of the population with the lowest wages, this income was less than 25,868 francs in 2019. The median income has remained stable at around 50,000 francs. 
  • The poverty rate for the employed labour force was 4.2 percent in 2019. About 155,000 people were living below the poverty line, even though they were in paid work.
  • Just over 12.2 of the population said they had difficulty making ends meet, and 20.7 percent were unable pay an unforeseen expense of 2,500 francs in the space of a month . Of these, 15.1 percent had at least one payment arrears.

READ MORE: Switzerland’s economy forecast to recover 'from summer onwards' 

On the positive side, the country’s general standard of living remains among the highest in Europe.

It is estimated on the basis of the median disposable income, after adjusting for differences in price levels in various countries. 

In Switzerland, this income was 2.8 times higher than in Greece, 1.6 times higher than in Italy, 1.3 times higher than in France, and 1.2 times higher than in Germany and in Austria.

Despite the high price level in Switzerland, the standard of living was higher in Switzerland than in most of the EU countries.


 

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