Swiss job market: Year-long nation-wide boom

Management professions higher than ever*

Zurich, 5 July 2018 – Swiss companies advertised 6% more jobs in the second quarter of 2018 than they did one year ago. 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. In particular, more positions are being advertised in the IT occupational groups and the management and organisational professions. The increase is very notable in the Lake Geneva Region, although growth can be seen in all of the larger regions.

The Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index was 6% higher in the second quarter of 2018 than in the summer of the previous year. The index has risen 2% in comparison with the quarter before. Seasonally adjusted, it has grown a total of 6% compared to the preceding quarter. This growth trend, now apparent for over a year, is not surprising given the current positive economic development in Switzerland. Nicole Burth, CEO of The Adecco Group Switzerland: “The current very positive economic situation is also reflected in companies’ recruitment behaviour. At the moment, they are conducting intensive searches for new employees. If the positive economic forecasts hold true, we can count on a further increase in vacant positions.”

*Since comparable measurements began in the first quarter of 2012

Rising demand for IT and management staff

Just as in the previous quarter, the number of advertised positions increased, above all in IT jobs (+24%, e.g. application developers) and in management and organisational occupations (+23%, e.g. project managers, office managers, directors, HR specialists) compared to the same quarter last year. “Process optimisation and automation are becoming increasingly important for companies in order to remain competitive on the domestic and international markets. For this reason, they are very eager to find suitable staff to push forward these sometimes complex optimisations. Candidates who are trained in the areas of IT and management and organisation are therefore very much in demand,” Nicole Burth adds.

The industrial and transport occupational groups also demonstrated a significant increase (+13%). This rise is due above all to increased demand for industrial specialists with technical specialisations, as well as for specialists in the mechanical and electrical engineering industries in particular. “The demand for personnel has been growing for over two years in these occupational groups that are typically active in export-oriented sectors. Nevertheless, levels have not yet reached where they were before the sharp devaluation of the franc in 2014,” comments Burth.

Boom in the Lake Geneva Region continues unabated

The increase in job advertisements in the Lake Geneva Region has continued for the third quarter in a row and is higher than in any other large Swiss region. The demand there is currently 7% stronger than in the preceding quarter. Job advertisements in the Lake Geneva Region have increased by an impressive 20% compared to the same quarter last year, while in the other regions a rise in posted vacancies is also evident in comparison to the second quarter of the previous year. For example, advertised positions have also increased primarily in the Greater Zurich Area (+6%) but also in Eastern Switzerland (+3%), the Espace Mittelland (+4%), in Northwestern Switzerland (+5%), and in Central Switzerland (+5%).

In the Lake Geneva Region, the demand compared to the same quarter last year grew most notably in the areas of industry and construction (+48%). In particular, the number of vacant positions in industrial professions (e.g. metalworking and mechanical industry) rose sharply. The other occupational groups in the Lake Geneva Region also displayed above-average growth. The demand for workers has grown in the technology and IT sectors (+34%) as well as in personal and social services professions (+23%), and in corporate services occupations (+11%). “We have been observing the extremely positive development in advertised vacancies in the Lake Geneva Region ever since the beginning of 2016. With its international orientation, the region is benefiting more than most from the improved economic situation abroad. Furthermore, the Lake Geneva Region with its Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne is an attractive centre of education and well positioned in future-looking sectors, such as information and communication technology and life sciences, which facilitates the creation of new jobs,” explains Jan Müller from the Swiss Job Market Monitor of the University of Zurich.

In German-speaking Switzerland, the Greater Zurich Area grew the most (+6%). This growth is especially significant for the entire Swiss job market, since currently almost a third of all job advertisements are placed in the Greater Zurich Area. The increase is being propelled by a higher, widely spread demand for workers in various occupational groups. This enabled growth in occupational groups in the industrial and construction sectors as well as in positions in corporate services, personal and social services, and in technology and IT.

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.”