Economy
Most of the canton relies on agriculture. The local breed of brown cattle is renowned. The textile industry used to be of great importance in the canton but has now almost ceased to exist; remnants are concentrated around the capital Schwyz. Located in the same area are many producers of fine furniture. There are a few large hydroelectric power plants in the canton.
Tourism is of importance in a number of regions, most notably in the centre of pilgrimage Einsiedeln. Einsiedeln is also a centre of winter sports. The mountain railways on the Rigi are well known around the country. Freienbach, in the north of the canton, is known for the lowest taxes in Switzerland. This has attracted a number of the rich.
The best known, worldwide product of the canton is the Swiss Army Knife manufactured by Victorinox in Ibach just downhill from the main town of Schwyz.
As of 2010, Schwyz had an unemployment rate of 2.3%. As of 2008, there were 4,723 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 1,789 businesses involved in this sector. 18,661 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 1,937 businesses in this sector. 41,198 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 6,207 businesses in this sector.
In 2008 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 53,451. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 2,939, of which 2,795 were in agriculture, 130 were in forestry or lumber production and 14 were in fishing or fisheries. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 17,505 of which 10,048 or (57.4%) were in manufacturing, 88 or (0.5%) were in mining and 6,959 (39.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 33,007. In the tertiary sector; 8,708 or 26.4% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 2,193 or 6.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 3,376 or 10.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1,382 or 4.2% were in the information industry, 2,294 or 7.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 4,126 or 12.5% were technical professionals or scientists, 1,922 or 5.8% were in education and 4,504 or 13.6% were in health care.
Of the working population, 15.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 56% used a private car.
Read more about this topic: Canton Of Schwyz
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