(07.05.2025) The labor market is showing resilience at the start of the year. In the first quarter of 2025, the number of job vacancies rose by 2% compared to the previous quarter, according to the Swiss Job Market Index compiled by Adecco and the University of Zurich.
This modest rebound comes as experts anticipate moderate economic and employment growth in 2025, amid ongoing economic uncertainty and trade tensions. Year-on-year, the job market contracted by 9% in the first quarter of 2025.
Nonetheless, the report highlights a clear and sustained increase in job opportunities for young professionals. Defying the overall downward trend seen since mid-2023, junior-level positions have risen from 21% in 2019 to 28.8% in the first quarter of 2025.
To identify the specific factors that enabled entry-level jobs to grow faster than average, the study compared two similar periods: 2015–2016 and 2024–2025. Overall, job listings for junior profiles increased by 6.3 percentage points.
The shortage of skilled labor in professions requiring a university degree in healthcare or engineering contributed to a 7.9-point rise in junior positions in mathematics, IT, natural sciences, and technology (STEM). Junior-level specialists in "office and administration" (+3.9 points) and "services and sales" (+3.6 points) also saw more professional opportunities in 2024–2025 than in 2015–2016. However, the total number of job postings in these sectors has been trending downward since 2022, likely due to technological advancements.
Geographically, the Mittelland region recorded the largest increase in the share of jobs for young professionals (+11.3 points), followed by Central Switzerland (+6.1 points), the Lake Geneva region and Ticino (+5.8 points), and the Zurich region (+5 percentage points).
Last modification 07.05.2025
