Swiss government reports 0,5% GDP growth for Q1 2026 despite fuel crisis

The Swiss economy has outperformed initial expectations, as GDP grew by 0,5 percent in the first quarter of 2026. The government also shared the latest statistics on employment.

Swiss GDP exceeds economist predictions in early 2026

Economists were expecting the gross domestic product (GDP) in Switzerland to grow by 0,3 to 0,4 percent in the first quarter of 2026. However, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has announced that based on initial estimations, the economy has outperformed this and grown by 0,5 percent despite “the oil price shock and tariff turmoil”, reports Watson. 

SECO attributes the growth in part to “the industrial and service sectors”. The Swiss franc has also remained strong against the US dollar and the euro in recent months. Last year, GDP shrank by 0,5 percent as a result of US tariffs on Switzerland and then grew slightly by 0,2 percent in the final quarter of 2025. 

The government update is known as a “flash estimate” and is “based on early information available on the output side of GDP”. A complete summary with all relevant data will be published by SECO on June 1.

Employment figures show mixed results for Swiss workers

The Swiss government also released the latest stats about how many people in Switzerland are working. According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the number of people employed in Q1 increased by 0,2 percent compared to the same quarter last year. In total, 5,351 million people were employed in Switzerland in the first quarter of 2026. 

In comparison, the unemployment rate, defined by the International Labour Office (ILO), also rose from 4,7 percent to 5,2 percent. That translates to a total of 26.000 more people being unemployed compared to the same quarter last year, and an overall total of 266.000 people without work in Switzerland. 

The rate is generally much higher for expats than for Swiss nationals, based on FSO reports. In 2025, the unemployment rate based on the ILO definition for nationals from third countries was 12,1 percent and 6,6 percent for people from an EU/EFTA country. For people with Swiss citizenship, by comparison, the rate was 3,4 percent.

While the European Union (EU) unemployment rate decreased from 6,2 percent to 6,1 percent in Q1, when looking at Switzerland’s neighbouring countries, the numbers increased: from 3,7 percent to 4,2 percent in Germany, 7,5 percent to 7,8 percent in France and 6,1 percent to 6,2 percent in Austria.