Companies and jobs

SMEs make up over 99% of the companies and create two-thirds of the jobs in Switzerland. Here are the key statistics.

SMEs, i.e. companies with less than 250 employees, make up over 99% of commercial companies in Switzerland and create two-thirds of the jobs in the country. This is shown by the Structural Business Statistics (STATENT) of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Number of companies and jobs according to size

Commercial companies in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors in 2019.

Company size	Companies	%	Employees	%
1 employee	310,191	51.58%	310,191	6.79%
2 employees	83,975	13.96%	167,950	3.67%
3-4 employees	81,441	13.54%	275,998	6.04%
5-9 employees	63,997	10.64%	414,670	9.07%
10-19 employees	32,483	5.40%	432,765	9.47%
20-49 employees	18,275	3.04%	546,699	11.96%
50-99 employees	5,947	0.99%	410,462	8.98%
100-199 employees	2,834	0.47%	390,122	8.54%
200-249 employees	543	0.09%	120,272	2.63%
SME Subtotal (1-249)	599,686	99.72%	3,069,129	67,15%
250-499 employees	995	0.17%	338,973	7.42%
500-999 employees	405	0.07%	282,163	6.17%
More than 1,000 employees	306	0.05%	880,405	19.26%
Total companies	601,392	100.00%	4,570,670	100.00%
Micro-enterprises (1-9)	539,604	89.73%	1,168,809	25.57%
Small enterprises (10-49)	50,758	8.44%	979,464	21.43%
Medium-sized enterprises (50-249)	9,324	1.55%	920,856	20.15%
Large enterprises (250+)	1,706	0.28%	1,501,541	32.85%
Total companies	601,392	100.00%	4,570,670	100.00%

Sources: provisional figures from STATENT 2019, published in November 2021. Next publication in November 2022.

Average number of employees per SME

The STATENT focuses on the three economic sectors:

The primary sector, which covers agriculture, forestry and fishing
The secondary sector, which covers extractive and manufacturing industries, production and distribution of electricity, gas and water, and construction
The tertiary sector, which covers services such as retail trade, wholesale trade, restaurants and even telecommunications

Here is the total number of SMEs (commercial enterprises with 1 to 249 employees) by sector in 2019:

Primary sector	51,592
Secondary sector	90,042
Tertiary sector	458,052
Total	599,686

Sources: provisional figures from STATENT 2019, published in November 2021. Next publication in November 2022.

Here is the average number of employees per SME in 2019:

Primary sector	3.0
Secondary sector	8.4
Tertiary sector	4.7
Total	5.1

Sources: provisional figures from STATENT 2019, published in November 2021. Next publication in November 2022.

Number of SMEs and employees per region

Commercial enterprises with 1 to 249 employees in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors in 2019.

	SME	Employees
Espace Mittelland	120,656	628,265
Lake Geneva Region	114,947	549,567
Zurich	105,433	560,886
Eastern Switzerland	83,638	437,893
Northwest Switzerland	70,612	378,937
Central Switzerland	70,025	361,500
Ticino	34,375	152,081
Total	599,686	3 069 129

Sources: provisional figures from STATENT 2019, published in November 2021. Next publication in November 2022.

Number of SMEs and employees by legal structure

Commercial enterprises with 1 to 249 employees in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors in 2019.

	SME	Employees
Sole proprietorship	327,809	594,174
Corporation (SA)	118,191	1,600,179
Limited liability company (SARL)	118,121	517,493
Association	12,152	123,781
Simple partnership	9,223	37,736
General partnership	6,320	24,497
Cooperative company	3,175	43,190
Foundation	1,703	69,014
Limited partnership	694	3,140
Limited stock partnership	7	111
Others	2,291	55,814
Total	599,686	3,069,129