Swiss unemployment rises in January, but below expectations

* Swiss unadj jobless rate 4.5 pct in Jan

* Forecast was for 4.6 pct

* Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate drops m/m

ZURICH, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Swiss unemployment ticked higher
in January but the rise was less than economists had forecast,
indicating a nascent recovery in other sectors might be
filtering through to the labour market.

The Swiss unemployment rate rose to a non-seasonally
adjusted 4.5 percent in January from 4.4 percent in the
previous month, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
said.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the unemployment rate dropped
to 4.1 percent from the previous month's 4.2 percent.

Economists had forecast the non-adjusted jobless rate would
rise to 4.6 percent. ECONCH

Switzerland emerged from a deep recession last summer and
recent economic data point to recovery, but economists expect
joblessness to peak later this year.

The Swiss National Bank has already started to unwind its
unconventional measures taken to counter recession and
deflation risks, and most economists expect a small interest
rate increase in the second half of 2010. <0#FES:>

However, SNB Chairman Philipp Hildebrand has also said the
central bank's moderately optimistic outlook was fraught with
very large uncertainties.

The SNB expects the Swiss economy to grow by 0.5 to 1.0
percent this year after shrinking by 1.6 percent in 2009.

(Reporting by Catherine Bosley; Editing by Kim Coghill)