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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

Which sectors and jobs in Switzerland are seeing the biggest salary hikes?

Generally speaking, Swiss wages are among the highest in the world, attracting an increasing numbers of foreign workers. But which professions currently offer the highest earning potential?

Published: 30 January 2024 15:37 CET
Which sectors and jobs in Switzerland are seeing the biggest salary hikes?
Internet technology is among sectors that command high salaries. Image by Ronald Carreño from Pixabay

The answer to this question comes from new data compiled by Michael Page, a Switzerland-based recruitment consultant firm.

Its ‘Salary Guide 2024’ covers over 550 job types across 15 key sectors, so it is a comprehensive work-related resource. 

The agency found that jobs in IT and digital marketing “showed the highest increases” in salaries — 6 to 10 percent more over the last 12 months.
Specifically, job categories showing the highest salary increases include digital sales and marketing (+10 percent), followed by IT (+6 percent).

Sectors where wages went up by more than five percent over the last 12 months include Finance and Accounting, Health and Life Sciences, Procurement and Supply Chain, Property and Construction, as well as Office and Management Support.

The financial services sector is also lucrative in terms of pay.

A chief financial officer in an international company, for instance, could be paid, on average, as much as 360,000 francs a year, while the salary of a chief investment officer would be only slightly lower at 320,000 francs annually.

READ ALSO: Why are Swiss wages so high?

Where in Switzerland are wages highest?

At about 9,000 francs a month on average, Zurich’s workers have the highest salaries in the country (and among the highest in the world as well), according to the Federal Statistical Office. 

Next on the pay scale are the Lake Geneva region (cantons of Geneva and Vaud), as well as Northwestern Switzerland (Basel), with 8,000 francs on average.

This means, not surprisingly, that the highest paying jobs can be found in Switzerland’s largest cities.

What is the situation on Switzerland’s job market right now —  and what is the forecast?

The country continues to lack skilled employees in many sectors and regions — one of the reasons why many companies are willing to pay top dollar (or, in Switzerland’s case, top franc) for qualified workers.

Overall, the current shortage is “at its highest level in Switzerland,” according to a report by the University of St. Gallen. 

And to make matters worse, this situation is expected to deteriorate further in short term: as baby boomers continue to retire, they will create 340,000 vacancies by 2025. 

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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

Switzerland sees record high immigration from European countries

Switzerland has seen record immigration from European countries and a new report reveals a correlation with the country's low unemployment rate.

Published: 25 June 2024 11:28 CEST
Switzerland sees record high immigration from European countries

Lots of data indicates that Switzerland needs foreign workers to fill job vacancies.

Now a report from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) confirms the importance that employees from the European Union and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) have had for Switzerland’s labour market and economy in general. 

That is why “demand for foreign labour was strong in Switzerland in 2023,” SECO said in its annual report published on Monday, which assessed the impact that the Free Movement of Persons agreement (FMPA) has had on the country’s employment.

In 2023, 68,000 people from EU and EFTA countries came to work in Switzerland, according to SECO, driven by “employment growth that has significantly exceeded the EU average.”

Why does Switzerland need EU / EFTA workers?

Simply put, they are needed for the country’s economy to function optimally.

As SECO pointed out, while the number of pensioners is growing (due mostly to Switzerland’s exceptionally high life expectancy), “Swiss working-age population has experienced only slow growth over the past 20 years.”

“The country’s economic growth is not possible without immigration,” said Simon Wey, chief economist at the Swiss Employers’ Union. “We need foreign labour if we want to maintain our level of prosperity.”  

READ ALSO: How EU immigrant workers have become ‘essential’ for Switzerland 

In what sectors is the need for these workers the highest?

“A large number of people from the EU coming to work in Switzerland are highly qualified and are employed in demanding activities in high-growth branches of the service sector, such as the branch of special, scientific and technical activities, that of information and communication or the health sector;” SECO’s report said.

But the Swiss economy also recruits EU nationals as low-skilled labour, particularly in the hotel and catering industry, as well as construction and industry.

Why are only people from the EU / EFTA states recruited?

The reason is that, unlike nationals of third countries, people from the EU / EFTA have an almost unlimited access to the Swiss employment market, thanks precisely to the FMPA. 

Also, those coming from the neighbour countries (as most of Switzerland’s foreign labour force does), have the required language skills to easily integrate into the workforce in language-appropriate Swiss regions.
 

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