Rising wage expectations due to candidate shortage and inflation
The Salary Survey and Recruitment Trends 2023 by HR services provider Michael Page show that the Swiss labor market will continue to grow in 2023. The biggest challenge will be the shortage of candidates.
Historically low unemployment, reluctance to change jobs and increasing localization of production are exacerbating the shortage of skilled labor and the search for qualified employees. For these reasons, employers must be willing to pay high wages for the best candidates. They must also encourage new employees and offer wage increases to existing employees who are most affected by inflation.
Inflation boosts wage expectations
The study shows that executives and senior managers in the banking and financial services sector receive the highest wages. The five positions with the highest wages are:
The study also shows that the salary expectations of candidates and employees are rising. These increased expectations are mainly due to inflation. This shows the need for wage increases for the lower wage brackets, which are most affected by inflation. Yannick Coulange, Managing Director of PageGroup Switzerland, says: "Wage increases at the lower end of the pay band send a strong message about a company's values."
Where wages rise the most
The job categories with the largest pay increases are positions in IT (+5 to +10 %), engineering (+5 %), and financial accounting (+3 to +5 %). In IT, wage increases were most notable in developers / DevOps and cybersecurity. In other occupations, the increase was strongest at the lower and middle management levels, where demand was greatest.
The study forecasts a positive outlook for the Swiss labor market in 2023 as well, despite concerns about a European recession. In Switzerland, the number of advertised jobs increased by 8.5 % between December 2021 and December 2022. The categories with the largest growth between December 2022 and January 2023 are insurance (+5.0 %), skilled trades (+4.0 %), and information technology (+3.7 %).
Further training and development opportunities are of great importance
According to the study, the most important benefits for attracting employees are retention and opportunities for further training and development. 70 % of candidates indicated that this was an important factor in choosing their employer. Yet, only half of employees said this issue was addressed during the recruiting process. In addition, the most frequently cited reason for quitting is the lack of professional development opportunities.
Source: Michael Page
