The English Forum is Switzerland’s largest social network, with forums/discussions on numerous topics.
Use the search engine to find what you’re after. A strength is that it is active in all parts of Switzerland, although this can make it harder to find information for a particular region until you’re used to using the site.
The site is managed by a company based in Sweden. It added news, thelocal.ch, in 2011: this is part of a chain, based at the same company in Sweden, managed by a business staff rather than an experienced independent editorial team.
Swiss unemployment stable in fourth quarter, 2010 outlook brighter
More people working in Swiss healthcare
Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Lake Geneva region showed the strongest growth in employment in the fourth quarter of 2009, up 1.1 percent. Zurich was the only other area to show growth, 0,9 percent. Overall, Swiss unemployment remained stable, with a slight slip of 0.3 percent compared to the same period in 2008.
Fourth quarter figures for Swiss unemployment published Thursday morning 25 February show with significant differences between industry, where the number of jobless continues to rise, and the services sector, where the jobless rate is falling. The outlook for 2010 appears to be brighter, according to Federal Statistical Office forecasts, with an increase in the number of jobs available. For the first time in five quarters, industry looks set to increase the number of jobs open, after seasonal worker adjustments to the figures.
The number of people actively working rose by 0.3 percent in 2009, thanks to women, whose presence in the workforce increased by 0.8 percent, while the number of men working fell by 0.1 percent.
Changes at La Poste include supplying new public mailboxes
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss postal service, La Poste, will be keeping only 30 of 114 post offices that were reviewed as part of cost-cutting measures begun in April 2009. A nearly 50 percent decline in mailed letters and packages plus a 17 percent drop in postal payments in less than a decade is behind a major restructuring of services to the public. La Poste’s list includes two post offices in Vaud that will be closed definitively without any replacement, in Buchillon and Chalet-à-Gobet.
Others will be modified with fewer services on offer or will be replaced by home pickup service, a practice widely used in many rural areas. The cutbacks are not finished: La Poste in April identified 421 post offices that will be reviewed by 2011.
At the end of 2009 La Poste has 2,348 post offices and 1,159 pickup services.
Swiss post office closings, changes (complete list)
Links to other sites: La Poste announcement in English, 24 Heures, Le Nouvelliste
Leman Expat Fair, Morges
Morges, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Lake Geneva area has numerous business and social clubs and networking groups for the English-speaking in international population that welcome newcomers, but every autumn the region is home to two events, each of which pull in a few thousand visitors, which make it easy for new arrivals to learn more about the region.
The family-centred indoors fairs, held on separate Sundays, introduce visitors to primarily English-language services and shops in the region, from clubs to insurance and banking advice, including a host of products. The Leman Expat Fair in Morges Sunday 27 is the first of these, with 100 exhibitors in the intimate setting of the Beausobre Theatre. The second is Expat Expo, with 180 exhibitors at Palexpo, Geneva’s large exhibition space near the airport.
Both offer free admission and plenty of giveaways. Check their web sites for details, as well as the GenevaLunch events pages for times and locations.
Ed. note: GenevaLunch will be at the Leman Expat Fair Sunday 27 September. We are unlikely to be able to join Expat Expo because of a date conflict, but we support the efforts of both groups to reach out to as many members of the international community as possible.
Title: Expat Expo 2009
Location: Geneva, Palexpo
Link out: Click here
Description: Annual indoor information fair with 180 exhibitors, for the English-speaking international population: services, products, families welcome!
Start Time: 11:00
Date: 11 Oct 2009
End Time: 17:00
An online marketplace where companies or individuals with common interests connect to buy and sell local services such as babysitting, cleaning and classes. Opened in April 2008; functions in French and English.
