Swiss job market: cooling down, but labour shortages remain

After several years of acute labour shortages, is the Swiss job market on its way towards a reprieve? Not quite, say analysts. Especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, the Swiss job market has been haunted by a spectre – the spectre of labour shortages. As companies struggled to recruit new staff, the number of open vacancies rose to a 20-year high, the unemployment rate fell to a 20-year low, and fears for future prosperity abounded. Is the trend shifting? Figures published this week by the Adecco HR group and the University of Zurich confirm that it’s at least turning slightly: from the first to the second quarters of 2024, the number of unfilled vacancies fell by 8%, they write; year-on-year, the drop was 11%. “Office specialists” – i.e. secretarial or administrative positions – were most affected, with 20% fewer open positions than a year ago. Other white-collar roles like IT specialists (-19%) and economists (-17%) also saw a dip in demand, as did healthcare workers (-19%). And ...