The Swiss government approved a third, 750 million Swiss franc ($690 million) economic stimulus package, on Wednesday, amid new indications that the recession could stretch into 2010.

“Since February 2009, when the decision to launch the second round of measures was taken, the outlook for the Swiss economy has continued to deteriorate,” the economy ministry said in a statement after a cabinet meeting.

Switzerland’s GDP is expected to contract by 2.7 per cent this year and 0.4% the following year, says government agency Seco, downgrading a previous forecast from March of a contraction of 2.2 per cent for 2009 and a slight recovery of 0.1% for 2010. That’s the worst contraction since at least 1975.

The Swiss jobless rate is expected to reach 3.8 percent this year (approx. 150,000 unemployed) and for 2010 5.5 per cent (approx. 215,000).

Switzerland formally entered recession in the first quarter when its economy shrank by an additional 0.8 percent, according to figures released at the beginning of the month.

Image by jamescridland under Creative Commons.

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