Swiss job market slowed in the third quarter

8 years ago - Published in Finance, Fundamental Analysis

In the third quarter of 2016 the employment has continued to grow in Switzerland, with a more moderate pace than in the previous quarter. The jobs have grown by 0.3% over the same quarter last year, to 4.918 million.

In the secondary sector, employment fell by 1.2% to 1.081 million. The decline affected both the manufacturing business (-1.1%) than that of the construction (-1.7%). In the service sector instead there was a growth by 0.7%, to 3,836 million, as reveals the employment barometer published on Tuesday by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

The health sector (+ 2.6%) continued to advance, though not as in the previous quarter (+ 3.3%). Meanwhile the hotel industry and catering (-1.5%) and the one of financial activities and insurance (-1.0%).suffered a fall in employment.

Converted into full-time equivalents, the volume of employment in the secondary and tertiary sector amounted to € 3.856 million, ie 1000 more than in the same quarter last year. The secondary sector showed a 1.3% decline, while the service sector saw an increase by 0.5%.

The trend was also recorded in the regions. The most marked increase was still in Ticino (+ 1.5%), with a service sector growth by 3.1%, followed by the Lake Geneva region (+ 1.2%), in Central Switzerland (+1, 1%) and Eastern Switzerland (+ 0.7%). The situation remained stable in the Espace Mittelland, while it worsened in Northwest Switzerland (-1.1%) and in the region of Zurich (-0.2%), where the secondary sector showed a decrease by 3.9%.

Switzerland recorded 4,000 vacancies more than in the same period last year (+ 8.1%). The rate began to rise both in the secondary sector (+ 6.1%) than in the service sector (+ 8.7%). The share of vacancies in total corresponds to 1.1% (1.0% in the secondary sector and 1.2% in the tertiary).

The employment forecasts are stable. Companies wishing to maintain their workforce during the next quarter accounted for 67.1% of total employment, compared with 70.7% in the same period last year. The companies, which expect to increase job places, are 7.7% of the workforce, compared with the previous 7.6%. Those who predict a decline amounted to 4.8%, against the previous 6.4%.