Economic growth expected to slow next year

The forecast assumes there will not be energy supply shortages this winter or next. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

Federal economists expect economic growth in Switzerland to slow in 2023, before picking up again in 2024, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The SECO expert group has slightly revised down its September forecast. It now expects a growth rate of 1% next year, after 2% in 2022. “This would point to sluggish growth for the Swiss economy, but not a severe recession,” says a SECO press releaseExternal link on Tuesday. The experts forecast growth of 1.6% in 2024.

This projection assumes, among other things, that there will be no energy supply shortages this winter or next. However, says the press release, “the energy situation in Europe is likely to remain tense with gas and electricity prices running high. Furthermore, high international inflation and the tightening of monetary policy are likely to curb demand.”

The experts expect inflation in Switzerland of 2.9% in 2022, followed by 2.2% in 2023.

SECO says economic indicators have weakened somewhat recently, and stresses that “the course of the economy will depend crucially on global economic activity and also on energy supplies”.