section_path: Impact by region or country/Europe/Switzerland
section_name: Switzerland
paragraph_text: Switzerland
  
  The Swiss economy showed modest real GDP growth in the final quarter of 2019, with a growth rate of 0.55%. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant contraction of 1.4% in the first quarter of 2020, followed by a steep 6.6% decline in the second quarter, suggesting the start of a recession. The economy rebounded in the third quarter of 2020 with a sharp 6.9% expansion, but growth slowed down in the fourth quarter to just 0.4%. In the first quarter of 2021, the economy grew by 0.3%. Despite the fluctuations in GDP, inflation remained subdued during this period. Annual inflation in Switzerland was negative in every month from October 2019 to March 2021, with the lowest rate recorded in December 2020 at -0.81%. The inflation rate was slightly less negative in early 2020, with a small positive change of 0.2% in January 2020, before dipping further in the months following. Throughout this period, inflation remained low, signaling weak price pressures despite the economic challenges. Regarding unemployment, Switzerland saw a moderate rise in its unemployment rate during the pandemic. The unemployment rate remained relatively stable through early 2020, but by the end of the year, it increased from 4.4% in February 2020 to 5.1% in December 2020, reflecting the economic challenges posed by the crisis. The unemployment rate remained around 5% throughout much of 2021 before gradually decreasing to 4.4% by the end of 2021.