Swiss job market starts off 2019 by once again growing 7% compared to previous year

Zurich, 8 April 2019 – Swiss companies advertised 7% more jobs in the first quarter of 2019 than they did in the previous year. This is reflected in the scientifically substantiated survey of the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index conducted by the Swiss Job Market Monitor from the University of Zurich. Compared to the year before, all of the regions showed growth, with Eastern Switzerland particularly strong. The majority of the job groups contributed to this upswing, with only a few remaining at last year’s level.

In spring 2019, the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index increased by 7% compared to the same quarter last year, but still remains stable compared to the previous quarter. ‘An evaluation of the most recent developments shows widespread stagnation in almost all vocational groups compared to the previous quarter. It remains to be seen how the following quarters of 2019 develop before being able to predict whether the subdued economic forecasts will be replicated on the job market,’ commented Nicole Burth, CEO of The Adecco Group Switzerland.

First and foremost: teaching professions and the public service sector show strong growth 

The number of advertised positions for all occupational groups increased during the first quarter of 2019 compared to the spring of 2018 or remained comparably high. Similar to the previous quarter, clear positive changes can be seen in teaching professions and the public service sector. This job group is currently demonstrating a 19% increase compared to the spring of last year. For example, not only are more teaching staff and workers in the field of education being sought, but the legal profession and security sector are also advertising more positions. ‘We assume that the growing number of school-age children is resulting in more teaching staff being hired, but we are also currently observing a rise in job advertisements in the areas of pre-school and post-secondary schooling positions,’ added Anna von Ow from the Swiss Job Market Monitor. Job advertisements from companies looking for professionals in management and organisation also increased (+16%, e.g. middle management such as division and project managers) compared to the previous spring. The demand for IT specialists rose as well (+13%, e.g. programmers).

Moderately positive developments were observed in spring 2019 with a 5-7% increase compared to the corresponding quarter last year in the following occupational groups: professions in construction and renovations as well as technology and natural sciences (e.g. engineering and technical occupations), healthcare jobs (e.g. pharmacists, physiotherapists, midwives and dentists), and positions in hospitality and personal services which include for example personal of service, reception and kitchen, as well as jobs in catering and public health, cleaning or other services.

Swiss job market: long-term decline in administrative sector, stagnation in the short term 

There was barely a change in the number of positions in the industrial and transport sectors (e.g. mechanical engineering, motorised or rail transport) as well as in commerce and sales, with a slight rise of 4% and 3% respectively. Office and management positions (e.g. sales and administrative jobs) and finance and fiduciary professions also remained stable, with a slight fall of 3% each. ‘Taking into consideration the longer-term development of the number of jobs in office and management professions shows a downturn over the past two years. This matches the trend observed in our Skills Shortage Index 2018, where a surplus of specialists can be seen in commercial and administrative occupations. Administrative and repetitive jobs are being increasingly automated.

Specialisations as well as retraining and further education, above all in digital sectors, are growing in importance,’ explained Nicole Burth, CEO of The Adecco Group Switzerland. The number of jobs advertised in the financial and fiduciary sector has been decreasing for some time, although in this case, apart from a slight dip in 2016, the fiduciary sector has been far less affected than commercial and administrative positions and jobs in banking and insurance. This was also evident in the Skills Shortage Index 2018, with the fiduciary sector showing a clear lack of specialists whereas administrative professions experienced more of a specialist surplus.

Eastern Switzerland in first place: strongest growth with +19% 

As demonstrated by the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index for the regions, Eastern Switzerland achieved the strongest growth in the number of job advertisements with +19%, thereby continuing the positive development seen in this region since 2016. Compared to spring 2018, the number of vacancies in the technology and IT sectors rose particularly strongly (+31%), most specifically for engineering and tech professions. However, demand also increased in the occupational groups for corporate services (+17%) such as fiduciary positions, management staff and entrepreneurs, as well as for personal and social services (+15%), e.g. hospitality jobs and caregiving services, healthcare, education and childcare.

The Espace Mittelland also managed to grow, although not as markedly, with a plus of 10%, with demand in this region increasing particularly for corporate services professions (e.g. entrepreneurs) and in the technology and IT sectors (e.g. programmers).

Growth in the other regions was less than 10% compared to the previous year. The quarter-on-quarter comparison shows only slight changes in all the regions, indicating a stagnating job market.

Distribution of job advertisements based on category 

The percentage values displayed in the ‘Job Index major regions: Percentage values’ graph show the percentage of job advertisements for the corresponding region out of the job advertisements for all regions of the Job Index random sample (Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index random sample).

Importance of print media as advertising channel sinks dramatically

According to our company surveys, print media now has almost no relevance when it comes to advertising job vacancies. As a result, as of the second quarter of 2018, the number of job advertisements published in the print media will no longer be factored into the calculations of the job index.

• Job index and the GDP: Strong correlation
• Importance of print media as advertising channel

Note regarding data collection: Optimisation

Based on revisions to the Adecco Group Job Market Index, some of the figures listed in this media release differ slightly from the figures published earlier. The revisions serve to align the index with a constantly changing job market. They pertain above all to the regional allocation of advertisements, the allocation of individual job titles to job groups, and the multiple publication of job advertisements. The revisions are intended to optimise the index, and therefore do not render the earlier published figures invalid in any way.