2021.03.1108:22:00UTC+00Swiss Govt Sees Rapid Economic Recovery

After contracting in the first quarter, the Swiss economy is set to recover at a rapid pace with the easing of coronavirus measures, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said Thursday.

Gross domestic product is forecast to grow 3 percent in 2021 and 3.3 percent next year. The projection for this year was left unchanged, while that for 2022 was revised up from 3.1 percent.

The economy is expected to shrink significantly in the first quarter of this year. However, a collapse of a similar magnitude to last spring so far seems unlikely, the SECO said.

The expert group cautioned that the recovery would be noticeably delayed if in the coming months further strict containment measures were to be introduced domestically and by key trade partners. The SECO expects consumer prices to climb 0.4 percent in 2021 instead of 0.1 percent estimated previously. Similarly, the projection for 2022 was raised to 0.4 percent from 0.3 percent.

Employment is forecast to rise considerably as the economy recovers, and unemployment is set to fall. The government maintained its outlook for the unemployment rate. The jobless rate is seen at 3.3 percent this year and 3 percent next year.