Swiss Service Sector Adds Jobs As Industry Employment Dips

The employment outlook is positive overall, according to the employment barometer published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

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Overall, the number of people in employment grew by 0.2% year-on-year to 5.544 million, said the barometer. Compared to the previous quarter, there was a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.2%.

In the service sector, 9,700 new jobs were created between October and December, an increase of 0.2% compared to the same period last year. At the same time, 1,100 jobs were lost in industry and construction, a fall of 0.1%. This continued the trend of the previous quarter.

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The decline in the number of job vacancies continued. Companies reported 86,000 job vacancies in the fourth quarter, which is 4.3% fewer than a year ago. However, the difficulties in recruiting skilled labour have changed little recently, writes the FSO.

Meanwhile, short-term employment prospects have developed positively according to the FSO. The proportion of companies planning to increase staff rose slightly compared to the previous quarter to 10.1%, while those considering a reduction fell slightly to 5.2 %.

The indicator for employment prospects thus rose slightly to 1.03.

This content was published on Feb 6, 2023 Switzerland's ageing population and changing lifestyles are profoundly transforming the labour market.