2,325 apartments (46.4%) were seasonally occupied and 242 apartments (4.8%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.4 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.48%. The historical population is given in the following chart: Heritage sites of national significance The Alte Kastlanei and the Church are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Saanen is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites. Politics In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 54.58% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (17.06%), the SPS (8.03%) and the Green Party (5.92%). In the federal election, a total of 2,084 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 48.8%. Economy , Saanen had an unemployment rate of 1.8%. , there were 491 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 202 businesses involved in this sector. 1,199 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 110 businesses in this sector. 3,969 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 414 businesses in this sector. the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 4,852. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 298, of which 290 were in agriculture and 8 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 1,117 of which 188 or (16.8%) were in manufacturing and 891 (79.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 3,437. In the tertiary sector; 907 or 26.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 212 or 6.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 1,156 or 33.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 12 or 0.3% were in the information industry, 95 or 2.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 192 or 5.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 108 or 3.1% were in education and 235 or 6.8% were in health care. , there were 1,013 workers who commuted into the municipality and 256 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 4.0 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 5.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 44.3% used a private car. Religion From the , 1,089 or 15.8% were Roman Catholic, while