* Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 4.1 pct in Feb
* Forecast was for adj unemployment rate of 4.1 pct
By Catherine Bosley
ZURICH, March 8, (Reuters) - Switzerland's unemployment rate was unchanged in February when adjusted for seasonal factors, data showed on Monday, in line with expectations and indicating the downturn in the labour market was seeing some respite.
The unemployment rate was flat at 4.1 percent when adjusted for seasonal factors compared to the previous month, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said.
"There seems to be a stabilisation in the labour market, it may be a first sign that there will be a turnaround in the second quarter," said Jan Poser of Sarasin. "The labour market usually lags the economy by six months."
Switzerland emerged from the worst recession since 1975 last summer, thanks in part to resilient private consumption, and several recent indicators have pointed to further recovery.
Many economists, however, expect joblessness to peak later this year and this could weigh on consumer spending. Joblessness rose in January, but by less than economists had expected.
The Swiss National Bank meets for its quarterly policy review on March 11, and economists expect it to keep its rate target at 0.25 percent. [ID:nLDE61P0FJ]
But they are keen to see whether the bank will raise its inflation and growth forecasts after the Swiss economy returned to growth in the second half of 2009.
"The conditions of the labour market are a bit better than had initially been expected. It confirms the slightly better picture," said Fabian Heller of Credit Suisse.
"We expect optimism to rise at Thursday's meeting but that won't be additional pressure to raise rates," he said.
The unemployment rate fell to a non-seasonally adjusted 4.4 percent in February from 4.5 percent in the previous month, the SECO said.
Economists had expected an adjusted rate of 4.1 percent and an unadjusted rate of 4.4 percent.
At its last meeting the SNB said it expected GDP growth of 0.5 to 1.0 percent for 2010 with inflation of 0.5 percent.
(Additional reporting by Martin de Sa Pinto)