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LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

UPDATED: What the Swiss worry about the most

Ukraine? Covid? Cost of living? New research shows what sits atop the Swiss list of worries (and what does not).

UPDATED: What the Swiss worry about the most
Covid and its aftermath preoccupied most Swiss in 2021. Photo by shahin khalaji on Unsplash

Everyone, everywhere in the world, must worry about something. So while having something to worry about is not exclusive to Switzerland, putting together an itemised and ordered list of the public’s biggest worries is very Swiss indeed. 

Two recently released studies chronicle what Switzerland is worried about. The different conclusions show just how quickly things can change. 

One survey, released by Credit Suisse on the basis of data from 2021, had Covid atop the list. Another, put together by financial comparison site Moneyland just a few weeks later, showed Ukraine was the number one concern, illustrating just how quickly things can change. 

Credit Suisse 

Each year, Credit Suisse carries out a survey, aptly named Swiss Worry Barometer, to find out main concerns of Switzerland’s  population — and that includes permanent foreign residents, not just Swiss nationals. The bank just released its findings for 2021.

Survey participants were asked to list their five most pressing worries and, not surprisingly, “the Covid pandemic and its impact held the top spot for 2021”, the study found, with 40 percent of respondents citing the pandemic as their number-one fear.

Last year was indeed a very eventful year on the epidemiological front, which included a major outbreak in the winter, followed by the emergence of the highly virulent Delta variant, which sparked worries about the possibility of Switzerland’s healthcare system becoming saturated.

Later in the year, coronavirus vaccines and the Covid certificate requirement stirred up one of the greatest controversies in recent times, creating dissent and divisiveness in the previously complacent nation.

READ MORE: ‘High degree of aggressiveness’: How Covid has changed Switzerland

However, Covid was considered “somewhat less urgent” in 2021 than in the previous year, when 51 percent of survey participants listed this disease as their top concern.

As Credit Suisse remarked when it published the 2020 report, “this is the first time in the history of the Worry Barometer that an entirely new issue has so clearly topped the list of people’s worries”.

In the second place (both at 39 percent) are climate change and the old-age pension, followed by Switzerland’s relationship with the EU, which worried 33 percent of the respondents.

Next are healthcare / health insurance costs (25 percent), foreigners (20), refugees / asylum seekers (19), increased housing and rental costs (17), as well as unemployment and energy supply security, both 14 percent.

Relating specifically to foreigners, an issue that preoccupies one in five respondents, Credit Suisse says that this concern “should be seen against the background of the immigration of highly qualified workers on the one hand, and concern about refugees and asylum seekers on the other, which is more related to concerns about possible ‘foreign infiltration’ and increasing pressure on social security”.

The positive news is that “when it came to foreigners, the proportion of Swiss people who count these among the country’s five biggest problems has decreased”, according to Credit Suisse.

“This is probably partly due to the fact that migration has not been an absolute priority in Switzerland for a number of years”.

Ukraine now tops the list

However, an even newer study, carried out by Moneyland.ch consumer website, reports that “the Ukraine conflict is now the biggest worry among residents of Switzerland”.

On the other hand, “the Swiss largely consider the pandemic to be ended. The coronavirus did not even land a place in the top 20 biggest causes of worry among residents of Switzerland”.

The reason for this disparity is that Credit Suisse survey covered 2021, when Covid was the dominant issue in the country and nobody suspected that Russia would invade Ukraine in the near future.

The Moneyland study was conducted in April, which explains why the public’s main concerns have shifted.

However, some worries that showed up in last year’s study still preoccupy many Swiss today. Among them are climate change (57 percent of respondents), the state of the environment (54 percent), and cost of health insurance premiums (51).

Will worries in 2022 be different from last year’s?

As the year is still young, it is impossible to make an accurate prediction about what will preoccupy the Swiss public most in 2022.

However, based on the first five months of the year, the following concerns are likely to weigh heavy, not necessarily in this order:

  • Ukrainian refugees
  • Energy supply and costs
  • Inflation and price of consumer goods
  • Switzerland’s security

A lot will depend on how the war in Ukraine unfolds in the coming months. We also can’t predict yet to what extent coronavirus will re-emerge this fall, what new variants may be in circulation, and how contagious / virulent they would be.

There are still a lot of unknowns ahead of us, so let’s not worry about that just yet.

Do you want to go back in time and see what the Swiss worries about in 2016 and 2018? Read about it here:

Barometer: Swiss worried about foreigners, pensions and jobs

New Worry Barometer shows what keeps the Swiss awake at night
 

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For members

ECONOMY

How the strengths and weaknesses of the Swiss economy will impact you

While the economies of many countries are struggling, Switzerland’s is doing well in comparison. What exactly are its strengths and weaknesses? And how will they impact you?

How the strengths and weaknesses of the Swiss economy will impact you

In its new analysis published on Tuesday, the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) lays out the forecast for Switzerland’s economy.

Some of it is positive, and some less so.

On the whole, however, and given the difficult situation of the past two years, the outlook is promising (read more about this below).

Things are not always what they seem

Economists, like KOF’s director Jan-Egbert Sturm, point out that though the public’s perception of the current economic situation is skewed toward the negative, it is not necessarily so.

“The increase in prices in Switzerland was significantly lower than in neighbouring countries,” he said in an interview with Blick newspaper. 

So is inflation: even at its height in 2022, when it exceeded the 3-percent mark (a very high figure for Switzerland), it was still well below the EU average.

Today, the rate stands at below 2 percent — still lower than elsewhere in Europe

READ ALSO: Why Switzerland’s inflation rate has stayed low compared to elsewhere

 Another ‘misconception’ is that consumption habits in Switzerland have been impacted by inflation.

The general view is that “there is some reluctance to buy new, larger goods like washing machines or cars. But if we look at the figures closely, we see that consumption is evolving in a relatively stable manner,” Sturm said.

“The Swiss economy is generally quite solid,” he added.

Another plus: “the labour market remains robust, especially thanks to the services sector,” Sturm pointed out.

Companies are more reluctant to let employees go not only because there are not enough qualified workers to fill job vacancies, but also because employers “learned during the pandemic that they must be careful not to lay off workers too quickly,” so as not to create shortages when the crisis passes.  

Why does Swiss economy generally fare well in crises — and in general?

There are several reasons for that: 

Low unemployment / high employment

This dynamic fuels economic prosperity because it means that as people earn income, they not only spend more (thus boosting consumption), but they also pay taxes which fill up the government’s coffers.

And when that happens, everyone in Switzerland benefits: the cantons and their finances profit from the strength of the Swiss economy, as the federal government distributes some of its profits to cantons.

The government’s role

The Swiss are financially-savvy, which bodes well for the economy.

Take the debt brake, for instance.

According to the government, it is a mechanism designed to “prevent chronic deficits and keep federal debt from soaring”.

Just as it is for private spending, the government must be careful not to exceed the set ‘expenditure ceiling.’

“With a debt ratio of around 30 percent of gross domestic product, Switzerland remains in excellent shape by international standards,” the government pointed out. “The debt brake has not only significantly helped Switzerland to overcome multiple crises relatively well; it has also allowed for a considerable reduction in federal debt.”

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), “Switzerland’s public finances rank amongst the best in terms of solidity.”

READ ALSO : What is Switzerland’s debt brake and how does it affect residents?

All these factors combined have kept Switzerland’s afloat (or at least from drowning) during various global downturns, including the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which sparked spiralling inflation in many places. 

But there are weak points as well

One of them is the strong franc.

Actually, its strength vis-à-vis the euro and US dollar is a double-edged sword.

On the positive side it benefits the import industry and, ultimately, the consumer.

But it is quite the opposite for exports.

Switzerland relies heavily on trade with the EU, mainly Germany, but when the euro is weaker than the franc, Swiss goods are too expensive abroad — especially if countries concerned are in recession and simply can’t afford to buy from Switzerland.

For this reason, Swiss industries that depend on exports, usually feel the ‘crunch’ more than import-based sectors.

Also, the strong franc may very well enable Switzerland-based earners to enjoy numerous stays abroad, but it also makes holidays in Switzerland very pricy for overseas tourists. This, in turn, has a negative effect on the Swiss economy as well.

Therefore, the state of Switzerland’s economy is not entirely in its own hands, but depends on forces beyond its control.

As KOF puts it, “the sluggish global economy is slowing the growth of the Swiss economy” as well.

What can we expect ahead?

This is where the good news comes in.

“Real wage increases are expected following the declines of recent years,” KOF says. “This will boost purchasing power and, together with population growth, should support private consumption.

Therefore, “households’ spending is expected to increase in the coming year. This trend will be supported by a gradual levelling-​off of inflation and a sharper rise in disposable incomes.”

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