Swiss labor market remains resilient despite challenges

After a period of stability in the previous two quarters, the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index shows a slight growth again in Q3 2023. Compared to the previous quarter (Q2 2023), the index shows an increase of 3% more job ads. Compared to the same quarter last year (Q3 2022), the growth is 7% more job postings.

"Although many economic indicators currently point to a difficult economic development in Switzerland, the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index shows that the Swiss labor market is impressively resilient. A look at other labor market indicators confirms this resilience. According to the KOF employment indicator, most companies are still planning to increase their headcount in the near future and the unemployment rate also remains at a historically low level despite a slight increase," says Marcel Keller, Country President Adecco Group Switzerland.

Sustained demand for occupations in the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and metalworking industries

Job trends in MEM occupations have gone through ups and downs over the past eight years. Looking back, the first year to stand out was 2018, which saw a remarkable increase in job postings (+27%). This increase was accompanied by significant gains in new orders, sales, and margins for MEM companies.

By contrast, the situation for the MEM industries deteriorated in 2019. The year was characterized by declines in order intake, sales and exports. Nevertheless, the number of employees in the MEM industries continued to increase and the labor market for MEM occupations also remained at a stable level.

It was not until the outbreak of the corona pandemic in 2020 that the job market for MEM occupations went into a tailspin, showing a drastic slump of 26% fewer job postings compared to 2019. However, by 2022, the MEM job market had already surpassed its pre-crisis level and is even reaching a new peak in the current year. However, a slowdown in job growth is also currently evident. While an impressive job growth of 34% more job postings was recorded in 2022 compared to 2021, the annual growth rate decreased to 19% in 2023. This slowing growth momentum thus appears to reflect the weakening economy in the MEM industry.

"Although the MEM industry is currently facing a cooling economy, the job market for MEM occupations shows remarkably little year-on-year decline. The continuing high level of order reserves and the ongoing shortage of skilled workers are making a significant contribution to the fact that capacity utilization in the MEM sector remains above the long-term average, thus supporting demand for skilled workers" says Yanik Kipfer, Job Market Monitor Switzerland.

The continuing demand for occupations in the MEM industries is evident not only in the overall analysis, but also when looking at specific occupational groups.

Particularly noteworthy are the Operators:inside of plants and assembly professions (this includes occupations such as CNC machinist:in, equipment assembler:in, or surface coater:in), where the number of job advertisements increased by 30% compared to 2022. Likewise Technicians, automation engineers and electronics engineers (which include mechanical technicians, automatic fitters, and electrical technicians) are in high demand, with an increase of 24% more job ads. This is closely followed by Engineer:inside (process engineers, electrical engineers or mechanical engineers) with an increase of 19%.

Despite lower year-on-year growth of 14% each, the occupational groups of the Metalworkers:inside (which include professions such as molders, polishers, and welders), as well as the Vehicle, machine and tool mechanics:inside (e.g. automotive mechatronics, polymechanics or micromechanics) show a clear positive trend compared to the previous year.

"We are seeing strong demand for skilled workers in skilled trades. Auxiliary workers with good German language skills and initial work experience are also increasingly in demand. If the workers in these occupational groups also have professionally relevant further training and excellent references, they have particularly good chances on the labor market," says Martin Meyer, Head of Adecco German-speaking Switzerland.

Source: www.adeccogroup.ch