Figure 12 IPEC  IMCE  (diffusion index)  (diffusion index)  Trade Construction Manufacturing IMCE without mining  IPEC (1) 80 IPEC: inflation (2) IPEC: unemployment (3)  80  Political and economic uncertainty (Depuc) (4)  60 60  (index, 1 January 2012 = 100)  500 400 300  40  40  200  20  20  0  0 18  19  20  21  22  100 0 18  19  20  21  22  18  19  20  21  22  (1) A value above (below) 50 indicates optimism (pessimism). (2) Percent of respondents who believe that prices will increase "a lot" in the next 12 months. (3) A higher (lower) value indicates more (less) unemployment. (4) Moving 30-day average. As from December 2021, the index includes an update to the dictionary of words used for its construction, as a way of incorporating new elements that influence the local scenario. Sources: Gfk/Adimark, Icare/Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, and Central Bank of Chile based on Becerra and Sagner (2020).
Growth was primarily driven by manufacturing, which benefited from  Page 2/4  Berne, 14 December 2017 Thomas Jordan  News conference  dynamic global economic developments and the weaker Swiss franc. Accordingly, exports recorded marked gains. Investment in equipment also grew noticeably. In the wake of this development, capacity utilisation in manufacturing increased further. The overall economic situation improved, too. Higher capacity utilisation, a more robust earnings situation and favourable global economic prospects contributed to a further rise in business confidence. These factors generally strengthen the willingness to invest. The gradual recovery on the labour market has also continued. The unemployment rate declined again slightly through to November. The demand for labour among companies has gradually picked up. Due to continued pressure on prices and costs, however, businesses are only cautiously increasing their headcounts. Employment growth is therefore likely to remain moderate. Given the supportive global environment and favourable monetary conditions, the recovery in the Swiss economy looks set to continue in the coming months. For 2018, we expect GDP growth of around 2%, following 1% in 2017. Compared to the current year, 2018 should be characterised by stronger growth stimuli mainly from exports and corporate investment. Inflation expectations, interest rates and exchange rates  I will now review changes in inflation expectations and monetary conditions. Inflation expectations for Switzerland have remained practically unchanged over the past half year. Households and companies still expect low inflation of around 0.5% in the short term. In the longer term, expectations lie at approximately 1%.