The unemployment rate of the Swiss population reached 3.3 percent in January, the highest in two years, the official Swissinfo news website reported on Friday.

The number of unemployed people in Switzerland reached 128,430 in January, up 9,668 from December, according to figures released by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco).

It is also a 14.8 per cent increase over one year ago.

Seco said almost half the increase, which was expected, was due to the poor economy but added that the number of young people affected had risen.

More than 21,000 people aged 15-24 do not have jobs, with the unemployment rate for this age group rising from 3.5 percent in December to 3.9 percent.

The unemployment rate among foreigners also increased disproportionately and stands at 6.6 per cent.