Swiss youth unemployment during the Great Depression

During the Global Crisis, youth unemployment in Switzerland did not increase as much as in other countries. This chapter argues that one reason for this is the fact that the country was hit by the Crisis almost exclusively through its exporting sector. Three other explanations have to do with important peculiarities of the Swiss labour market: the large number of workers who reside in a neighbouring country and who therefore do not show up in the official unemployment statistics; the large incidence of part-time employment that allowed some of the adjustment to take place on the intensive margin;and the tertiary tier of the dual educational system that provided a training alternative to many of those who lost their jobs