The world’s happiest economies this year will look similar to last year’s rankings published by Bloomberg. Thailand, in part due to unique structural issues that allow more people to count as employed, will stay as least miserable.
Singapore, for which survey data is newly available this year, will debut at second-best. Switzerland, Taiwan and Japan will keep top-five status from 2015.
Switzerland’s case is cautionary for fans of the misery index: While the Swiss are slated to enjoy continued low joblessness, economists see falling consumer prices this year.
Discounts can be great for consumers, but also could portend deeper problems within the economy. Switzerland, for its part, is still trying to maintain currency stability since dropping its currency cap a year ago.
Misery index calculations were compiled using the median estimates in Bloomberg economic surveys from the past three months. Figures for 2015 inflation and unemployment data reflect the average over the year and use the most current data available for each country.
Source: These Are the World’s Most Miserable Economies – Bloomberg Business
