(30.10.2024) The types of professions within the Swiss workforce have undergone significant changes over the past 50 years. For instance, the proportion of people working in intellectual and scientific fields jumped from 7.3% in 1970 to 26.8% in 2023, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
The report, titled "50 Years of Evolution in the Employed Workforce: Demographics, Working Hours, and Professions," also highlights the growing importance of "intermediate professions" saw an increase of 6.4 percentage points (from 10.6% to 17.0%). Meanwhile, the share of "directors, senior executives, and managers" grew from 4.7% to 8.7%.
Overall, more than half of the workforce (52.5%) now works in either of these two categories or in intellectual and scientific professions, compared to less than a quarter (22.6%) in 1970. Skilled trades in industry and craftsmanship have shown the strongest drop across all categories, falling from 25.1% to 9.5%.
The workforce has also seen a significant increase in female employment. In 1970, fewer than one million women were employed in Switzerland, but by 2023, that number had risen to 2.26 million. Women now represent the majority of workers in the "direct personal service staff, merchants, and salespeople" category (65.9%).
Moreover, the proportion of foreign workers in "elementary occupations" has nearly doubled over the past 50 years, rising from 29.2% to 55.4%. However, their presence remains quite low in the agricultural sector, at just 7.8%.
The average age of Swiss employees has also increased, from 38.4 years in 1970 to 42.4 years in 2023. This trend reflects an aging population and longer education periods. Over the same period, the number of workers aged 15 to 24 has declined, dropping from 631,000 to 546,000.
Last modification 30.10.2024