Geneva, Switzerland News

About Geneva, Switzerland

According to a report published by the Department of the Economy, Labour and Foreign Affairs, the tertiary sector employs 84 per cent of Geneva's working population, while the primary and secondary sectors employ 1 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

Within the tertiary sector, public administration, healthcare and business services are all important but the city is most noted for its banking and financial services.

The concentration of banking and financial institutions in Geneva is much higher than the national average and, according to the Geneva Financial Centre, approximately 40 per cent of the total volume of assets under management in Switzerland and 14 per cent of worldwide cross-border assets under management are directly or indirectly controlled from the city.

Geneva's industrial sector is largely focused on value-added activities aimed at international markets and these make up the majority of the city's exports. Notable industries include chemicals and pharmaceuticals, clock and watch manufacturing and the production of fine jewellery.

The city benefits from a well educated and multilingual workforce, although this comes at a price, with salaries in Geneva being relatively high. Returns on this investment however are good, as Geneva benefits from the high productivity and good industrial relations that are enjoyed throughout the country.

The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2002, shows overall productivity in Switzerland, in terms of GDP per person employed, to be above that of Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK during 2001.

While according to figures published by the UK Office for National Statistics, Switzerland lost just 1 day per 1000 employers as a result of industrial disputes during 2000, compared to an EU average of 60 days and an OECD average of 90 days.

The unemployment rate in Switzerland is one of the lowest in Europe, with figures published in the Economist in June 2002 showing it to be 2.5 per cent.

This compares with figures of 2.2 per cent in the Netherlands, 4.2 per cent in Ireland, 5.1 per cent in the UK, 9 per cent in Italy, 9.1 per cent in France and 9.7 per cent in Germany.

Other Major Cities:

• Zürich
• Basel
• Bern
• Lausanne
• Winterthur
• St. Gallen
• Luzern
• Lugano
• Biel
• Thun