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ZURICH, July 7 (Reuters) – Switzerland’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in nearly two years, a sign the labour market is holding up well despite the strong Swiss franc.
The unemployment rate fell to a non-seasonally-adjusted 3 percent in June from 3.1 percent in the previous month, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said on Friday, the lowest since August 2015.
When adjusted for seasonal factors, the unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent, unchanged from the previous month.
Switzerland’s export-reliant economy took a hit in January 2015 when the Swiss National Bank (SNB) suddenly ended its cap on the franc versus the euro, sending the Swiss currency soaring and making Swiss products more expensive in their main export market.
More than two years on, the SNB still calls the franc “significantly overvalued” and is trying to weaken it through a mix of negative interest rates and currency market purchases.
The Swiss economy is three-quarters of the way through its recovery from the 2015 currency shock, the main business lobby said last month. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin; editing by Ralph Boulton)
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