The unemployment rate in Geneva for March 2015 was 5.6%. In the United States (US) the March 2015 rate was 5.5%, 0.1% lower than in Geneva. US employment has enjoyed a remarkable turn around. Five years ago US unemployment was 9.7%. Five years ago in Geneva it was 7.3%, so the US has moved further faster.

Like Switzerland, the US shows huge variation across states. In February, the US states with the highest unemployment, all with 7% or higher, were Washington D.C., Mississippi and Nevada.

The strongest performers were predominantly rural states – Idaho, Utah, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Vermont and New Hampshire all had unemployment rates of 3.9% or lower. This is similar in Switzerland. The top 5 performers in Switzerland in March 2015 were Obwald, Nidwald, Appenzell-Rhodes-Interior, Uri and Schwyz, with unemployment rates of 1.6% or less. All of these cantons with the exception of Schwyz are predominantly rural.

Perhaps the old adage that there is always something to be done on the farm is true.