KOF Upgrades Swiss Economic Growth Projection for 2026 on Strong First Half

04:48 AM EDT, 09/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The KOF Swiss Economic Institute significantly raised its 2026 economic growth forecast, citing a better-than-expected first half and upward revisions to national accounts data. The autumn forecast for real gross domestic product, adjusted for sporting events, was raised to 1.9% from 0.8% in the summer projection, according to a Wednesday release. KOF expects GDP growth to reach 1.7% in both 2027 and 2028, while cautioning that overall uncertainty "remains high". While higher energy prices are temporarily stoking price pressures, KOF noted that there are "only limited signs" of second-round effects so far. As such, the institute maintained its forecast that inflation will come in at 0.6% in 2026 and 2027, before easing to 0.5% in 2028. Following the Swiss National Bank's (SNBN.SW) decision to hold interest rates at 0% in September 2026, KOF expects a 25-basis-point rate hike at the central bank's next policy assessment. In the labor market, employment in full-time equivalents is expected to increase by 1.5% in 2026 from 0.5% previously. Meanwhile, unemployment remains "elevated", with KOF noting that recent joblessness is "structural and will therefore not be reversed by a cyclical recovery alone." Under the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs metric, the unemployment rate is projected to average 3.1% in both 2026 and 2027 and 3.0% in 2028.