Fewer people received social assistance in Swiss cities in 2022 than in the previous year. In ten of the 14 cities surveyed, the social assistance rate declined. The number of people receiving assistance fell by an average of 2.4%.
Among other things, the favorable labour market situation contributed to the development, the Swiss Association of Cities announced on Tuesday. The number of new welfare cases also declined.
More refugees on welfare are in employment than the rest of the population. Some 36% of adult refugees on social assistance are working, compared with 23% of all recipients.
Access to training and diploma recognition are among the key measures to combat the phenomenon of the “working poor” among refugees, according to the report. Some 60% of refugees on social assistance have no recognised vocational training.
At 9.9%, the social assistance rate was highest in Biel. Lausanne followed in second place with a social assistance rate of 6.8%. Zug had the lowest social assistance rate at 1.5%. In Basel, the rate was 5.3%, in Bern 4.9%and in Zurich 4.1%.
The Cities’ Social Policy Initiative of the Swiss Association of Cities and the Bern University of Applied Sciences analysed data from Basel, Bern, Biel, Chur, Lausanne, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schlieren, Uster, Wädenswil, Winterthur, Zug and Zurich.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Culture
Wealth is not all: how gentrification in Zurich has led to housing shortage
Swisscom receives greenlight for acquisition of Vodafone Italia
This content was published on
The takeover of Vodafone Italia by Swisscom is nearing completion. All relevant authorities have now approved the €8 billion (CHF7.45 billion) deal.
Novo Nordisk stock market plunge drags down Swiss device maker Ypsomed
This content was published on
The Danish pharmaceutical giant, Novo Nordisk, faced setbacks on Friday that weighed on the share price of Swiss injection device manufacturer Ypsomed.
Swiss press react to EU deal with mix of euphoria and scepticism
This content was published on
Swiss media reaction to the agreement between Switzerland and the EU varies widely. Some are celebrating, while others worry about what is to come.
Swiss Solidarity donations to tackle child abuse top CHF4 million
This content was published on
Swiss Solidarity, the humanitarian arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), has raised over CHF4 million ($4.3 million) to tackle child abuse.
EU Commission president says Swiss-EU deal is ‘historic’ agreement
This content was published on
At a joint media conference with Swiss President Viola Amherd in Bern, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a "day of joy".
Switzerland and EU reach deal on future bilateral relations
This content was published on
Switzerland and the European Union have announced a political agreement to update their trading relationship after almost a decade of difficult talks.
Swiss aim to train welfare recipients to help fill staff shortages
This content was published on
Amid labour shortages, Swiss social services want to promote people’s reintegration into the job market through further education.
Migrants refuse social assistance to keep residency rights
This content was published on
Some migrants are being forced onto poverty by Swiss laws that can remove residency rights if they claim welfare payments.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.