According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.2% in August 2023 compared with the previous month, reaching 106.4 points (December 2020 = 100). Inflation was +1.6% compared with the same month of the previous year.
The 0.2% increase compared with the previous month is due to several factors including rising prices for fuels and heating oil. Housing rentals and fees for securities accounts also recorded a price increase. In contrast, the hire of private means of transport decreased as well as prices for air
transport and international package holidays.
In August 2023, the Swiss Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 106.75 points (base 2015 = 100). This corresponds to a rate of change of +0.2% compared with the previous month and of +1.9% compared with the same month the previous year.
The rental price index increased by 0.4% in August 2023 compared with the previous quarter, reaching 104.2 points (December 2020 = 100). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, this was an increase of +1.5%.
Per a release by Statistics Canada Real gross domestic product (GDP) was nearly unchanged in the second quarter, following a 0.6% rise in the first quarter. The slowdown was attributable to continued declines in housing investment, smaller inventory accumulation, as well as slower international exports and household spending. Increased business investment in engineering structures and higher government spending were among the few components that contributed to growth. Final domestic demand rose by 0.3%, a similar increase to that seen in the first quarter of 2022.
The GDP deflator rose 0.7% in the second quarter, as consumer inflation remained elevated. However, the terms of trade—the ratio of the price of exports to the price of imports—fell 2.0% in the second quarter, primarily because of a 3.4% decline in prices of exported goods. This was the fourth straight quarterly decrease in the terms of trade.
The real gross national income edged down 0.2% in the second quarter, reflecting the lower terms of trade.
As stated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 187,000 in August, and the unemployment rate rose to 3.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, social assistance, and construction. Employment in transportation and warehousing declined.
The unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point to 3.8 percent in August, and the number of unemployed persons increased by 514,000 to 6.4 million. Both measures are little different from a year earlier, when the unemployment rate was 3.7 percent and the number of unemployed persons
was 6.0 million.
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; financial activities; other services; and government.
In August, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $33.82. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.3 percent. In August, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 6 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $29.00.
