Where are Switzerland’s priciest babysitters?

Swiss parents are paying on average double the European average of 8.70 francs (€8.07) per hour for babysitters, the study by start-up Yoopies reveals.

Within Switzerland, the most expensive canton is Zug, where the average hourly pay rate is 22.90 francs. Thurgau, at 21.60 francs, and Lucerne (21.30 francs) take out second and third place.

In French-speaking Switzerland, the canton of Geneva is the priciest place for babysitters, with an hour costing an average 16.20 francs. In the Canton of Neuchâtel that figure is 15.20 francs and in Vaud, it's 14.90 francs. 

The cheapest canton in Switzerland is Jura, where babysitters cost are paid an average 11.30 francs an hour.

Explaining the difference in price between the cantons, Yoopies director Mounir Laggoune highlighted the large number of childcare options in French-speaking Switzerland.

“You also have to take into account that families in the Romandie often make use of cross-border workers. There is more supply and that means families pay less,” Laggoune said.

Speaking about the high costs of employing babysitters in Switzerland, the company said the lack of childcare centres and a growing number of woman in the workforce were both factors driving prices up.

The Yoopies study shows babysitters in the UK are the second-highest earning in Europe after Switzerland, taking home an average of 14.50 an hour. In third place is France, where babysitters can ask for an average 9.28 francs an hour.

Image: Yoopies