Foreign benefit claimants more likely to work

Wednesday, 25 October 2023 06:30

Foreigners are more likely to be in social assistance than Swiss nationals – but also more likely to have a job while claiming benefits.

Nearly 56% of benefits claimants are non-Swiss.

The figures are made up of these on B permits or the F provisional entry permit – the majority being refugees.

But 36% of foreign claimants are also working - albeit low paid and precarious – compared to 23% of Swiss nationals.

Non-Swiss claimants tend to have lower education levels – or their qualifications are not recognised in this country.

Immigration was one of the main themes of the elections.

The Swiss People’s Party says the election results show voters have had enough of the current migration policy.

More from Bitesize News

Zurich vote imminent

Zurich will vote next month on whether Exit and Dignitas should be allowed to operate inside hospitals and rehabilitation clinics
Swimmer completes epic challenge

British long-distance swimmer Neil Gilson has completed a two-year challenge to swim the length of Switzerland's ten largest lakes, finishing at Geneva's Bains des Pâquis on Wednesday
Progress on Lausanne tramway

Switzerland's Federal Office of Transport has approved the second phase of the Lausanne tramway, clearing the way for a 3.1-kilometre northern extension from Renens to Villars-Sainte-Croix
Police use new tactic

Swiss transport police are being handed tasers to tackle rising violence on trains and stations
T2 closed at Cointrin

Geneva Airport has shut parts of its Terminal 2 after a wooden-framed hangar collapsed overnight in mid-July
Swiss national missing in Nepal

A Swiss national is among more than 1,300 people missing after Wednesday's flash floods in Nepal, according to the Tourism Board