Keystone
Employment in Switzerland increased only slightly at the start of the year. However, the outlook remains positive.
The number of jobs rose by 0.6% compared to the previous year. The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) counted a total of 5.512 million people in employment in Switzerland in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the number of job vacancies fell by 16.4 percent to 93,800, according to a statement issued on Monday.
Both the secondary and tertiary sectors contributed to the slight job growth. In the tertiary sector (services), employment rose by 0.7 percent. A total of 4.384 million people work in the service sector. In the secondary sector (industry and construction), the number of employees grew by 0.2% to 1.128 million.
Seasonally adjusted, total employment increased by 0.2% compared to the previous quarter. Calculated in full-time positions, total employment in Switzerland would amount to 4.308 million 100 percent jobs. This is an increase of 0.7 percent compared to the previous year.
Employment prospects gloomy
According to the FSO, the outlook is still “positive”, although the indicator for employment prospects has fallen by 0.5 percentage points to 1.04 compared to the previous year.
The difficulties in recruiting specialists have decreased, according to the report. The proportion of companies planning to increase their workforce in the short term also stagnated in the first quarter.
