(26.02.2025) The labour market is tightening in Switzerland. The economic downturn has led to a decline of 10% in job vacancies throughout 2024 and as much as 13% in the fourth quarter, according to the Swiss Job Market Index published by Adecco and the University of Zurich.
This is the first negative annual balance since the end of the pandemic. Demand has declined in all professional sectors. The university branches related to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and healthcare (-19%), as well as those of office and administration specialists (-17%), have experienced the largest decrease in the number of job offers.
The study also notes a decline in advertisements for technology specialists (-8%), academic professions in the social and economic sector (-7%), and professionals in the services and sales sector (-7%). The situation remained more stable for managers (-3%) and craft specialists and auxiliaries (-3%).
Geographically, no region has been left untouched. The labour market contracted by 15% in Zurich, 14% in Espace Mittelland, and 9% in the North-western and Central Switzerland. The drop remained moderate in Eastern Switzerland (-3%) and in the Lake Geneva region (-2%).
However, some professions have seen an increase in demand in certain regions. Job offers for senior management rose by 29% in Central Switzerland and 20% in the Lake Geneva region. In Eastern Switzerland, advertisements for the service and sales sector grew by 20%, while the number of technical trades increased by 15% in the North-West region.
Last modification 26.02.2025
