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 2021.

Company size	Companies	%	Employees	%
1 employee	316,500	51.93%	316,500	6.83%
2 employees	83,812	13.75%	167,624	3.62%
3-4 employees	81,761	13.41%	277,008	5.98%
5-9 employees	65,001	10.66%	421,221	9.09%
10-19 employees	32,969	5.41%	438,344	9.46%
20-49 employees	18,443	3.03%	551,146	11.89%
50-99 employees	5,903	0.97%	406,664	8.78%
100-199 employees	2,858	0.47%	394,434	8.51%
200-249 employees	573	0.09%	126,996	2.74%
SME Subtotal (1-249)	607,820	99.72%	3,099,937	66.90%
250-499 employees	960	0.16%	326,757	7.05%
500-999 employees	422	0.07%	295,431	6.38%
More than 1,000 employees	316	0.05%	911,403	19.67%
Total companies	609,518	100.00%	4,633,528	100.00%
Micro-enterprises (1-9)	547,074	89.76%	1,182,353	25.52%
Small enterprises (10-49)	51,412	8.43%	989,490	21.36%
Medium-sized enterprises (50-249)	9,334	1.53%	928,094	20.03%
Large enterprises (250+)	1,698	0.28%	1,533,591	33.10%
Total companies	609,518	100.00%	4,633,528	100.00%

Sources: Structural Statistics of Enterprises STATENT, August 2023

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 2021:

	SME	Jobs
Primary sector	50,399	155,261
Secondary sector	90,848	758,871
Tertiary sector	466,573	2,185,805
Total	607,820	3,099,937

Sources: Structural Statistics of Enterprises STATENT, August 2023

Here is the average number of employees per SME in 2021:

Primary sector	3.0
Secondary sector	8.3
Tertiary sector	4.7
Total	5.1

Sources: Structural Statistics of Enterprises STATENT, August 2023

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	121,449	629,219
Lake Geneva Region	117,935	558,868
Zurich	106,111	563,714
Eastern Switzerland	84,254	441,808
Northwest Switzerland	71,079	380,356
Central Switzerland	71,698	370,361
Ticino	35,294	155,611
Total	607,820	3,099,937

Sources: Structural Statistics of Enterprises STATENT, August 2023

Number of SMEs and employees by legal structure

Commercial enterprises with 1 to 249 employees in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors in 2020.

	SME	Employees
Sole proprietorship	323,572	569,172
Corporation (SA)	120,930	1,620,556
Limited liability company (SARL)	129,373	559,473
Association	11,991	123,671
Simple partnership	8,537	35,751
General partnership	5,790	21,777
Cooperative company	3,155	43,672
Foundation	1,689	67,805
Limited partnership	591	2657
Limited stock partnership	7	231
Others	2,185	55,172
Total	607,820	3,099,937