Switzerland's nonfarm payrolls grew 0.5% year over year in the first quarter, compared with the 0.2% gain in the previous three months, according to data published by the country's Federal Statistical Office on Thursday.
On a quarterly basis, the seasonally adjusted figure rose 0.4%.
Over 5.5 million employees were recorded by companies in Switzerland, excluding agriculture, for the three-month period.
The broad trends in household spending in Australia pointed to a waning in consumer demand after a strong final few months of 2025, ANZ said on Thursday.Total household spending in April was AU$79.42 billion, up 4.9% compared with April 2025, and down 1.1% month-on-month on a current price, seasonally adjusted basis, after a 1.6% increase in March.The data is consistent with the weakness in consumer confidence, the low level of auction clearance rates, and slightly better-than-expected inflation data for April. The latter suggests that firms might be struggling to pass price and cost increases through to consumers.The month-to-month volatility in household spending reflects both swings in fuel prices, but also some noise in the ex-fuel spend, which is estimated to have fallen 0.8% in April after a 0.7% increase in March.The first quarter capital expenditure (capex) data was particularly strong, with total capex up 6.5% in the quarter to be 14.6% higher over the year.
Britain's total vehicle manufacturing fell 1.2% year over year to 58,513 units in April, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said Thursday.Car production tumbled 0.7% to 56,135 units, while commercial vehicle output declined 10.9% to 2,378 units.For the four months to April, total vehicle manufacturing slumped 10.7% to 266,601 units.
Bank of Korea kept its base rate unchanged at 2.50% for the inter-meeting period amid high inflationary pressure and uncertainties surrounding developments in the Middle East, the central bank said in a Thursday release.Five members of the Monetary Policy Board backed keeping the base rate steady, while Chang Yongsung and Ryoo Sangdai opposed, calling for a 0.25% rate hike to 2.75%.The decision was in line with a poll conducted by Reuters, wherein 30 of 32 economists anticipated the rate freeze decision. A survey conducted by Bloomberg also witnessed 22 out of 23 economists agreeing on a steady rate decision.Inflation pressures have risen due to the Middle East conflict, while stronger exports raised growth beyond earlier expectations, and financial stability risks remain.Consumer inflation rose to 2.6% in April on the jump in petroleum prices, while core inflation remained unchanged at 2.2%, and inflation expectations remained in the upper 2% range.The central bank expects inflationary pressure to build further amid higher oil prices and growing demand, raising inflation forecasts for this year to 2.7% for headline inflation and 2.4% for core inflation, both above its February projections.