GENEVA, Jan. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The Swiss government announced on Friday that it has nudged up its growth forecast for this year to 1.8 percent, citing the global economic upswing over the past few months.

    The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) said it was upgrading its previous forecast for 2006 by one tenth of a percentage point.

    "The government's panel of experts expects that economic expansion in 2006 and 2007 will broaden and increasingly filter through to the jobs market," it said in a statement.

    Separate data published by Seco on Friday showed that unemployment climbed slightly in December to 3.8 percent from 3.7 percent in the previous month.

    Seco also warned that economic growth, which is largely being driven by exports and solid domestic consumer spending, would not be spectacular. Officials said companies were reporting full orderbooks and more investment activities.

    The Swiss National Bank and the country's largest commercial bank, UBS, were slightly more optimistic in their latest forecasts. They predicted growth of two percent for this year. Enditem