Swiss Staffingindex: Turnaround in the labor market
The economic slowdown has led to a turnaround in the labor market within a year. Permanent placements by personnel service providers fell significantly by 20.8%. The temporary staffing business is also in the red.
The slowing economy is making it more difficult to find a job in Switzerland and causing the business figures of personnel service providers to fall. The strength and speed of the new trend is particularly surprising in the permanent placement business: turnover has fallen by 20.8% compared to the previous year. The 4.9% decline in hours worked in the temporary staffing market is also significant. The double minus signals an economic downturn. Companies are reluctant to create permanent positions due to the poorer order situation and require fewer temporary staff. In the healthcare sector, demand for staff continues to grow.
The days of labor shortages are over. Jana Jutzi, Managing Director of Careerplus, observes: "Companies are currently extremely cost-conscious. Instead of recruiting new employees, they are combining positions or looking for bridging solutions". However, the shortage of skilled workers persists in specific job profiles. This is particularly surprising in IT: demand in this sector was previously high. According to Lightcast, the number of job advertisements has now fallen by 25% compared to the same quarter last year. However, the demand for network architects (Q2 2024: 2124 advertisements, +31%) remains unbroken among personnel service providers and is directly behind the construction occupation of carpenter (Q2 2024: 3763 advertisements, +41%), which recorded the largest increase in advertisements. Driven by demographic change, the labor market also remains tight in the healthcare sector. The number of advertisements is also rising slightly there. Jutzi confirms the trends: "Companies continue to approach us with demanding profiles. In IT and healthcare in particular, there are roles that are hard to fill. The talents are aware of their value. Placement often fails due to requirements that companies are unable to meet.
Paradox: construction is weakening despite a hot housing market
While house and rental prices are rising, construction is weakening. Susanne Kuntner, Managing Director of the personnel service provider meinjob, says: "The market situation in the construction industry is difficult. At the moment, our customers are largely able to handle their orders with their permanent staff. This is why the number of temporary workers hired out is down significantly on the previous year for the first time in years". This is also confirmed by the figures from the international job market specialist Lightcast: The number of advertisements for traditional job profiles such as crane operators (Q2 2024: 239 advertisements, -68%), floor layers (Q2 2024 333 advertisements: -50%) but also unskilled workers (Q2 2024 1180 advertisements: -41%) has fallen sharply. Dr. Marius Osterfeld, economist at swissstaffing, sees three causes: "Rising interest rates, lower demand for housing during the Covid crisis and complex approval procedures are preventing supply on the building market from adjusting quickly". The current weak phase in the construction sector shows that the housing market will not ease in the foreseeable future. Rising new rents and longer search periods are to be expected.
New balance of power: consequences for jobseekers and recruitment agencies
In the new labor market phase, the balance between employers and employees is shifting - even if the situation is still good compared to before the Covid crisis. Ongoing training as an investment in their own employability is becoming increasingly important for employees. It is also worth keeping an eye on developments on the job market and taking advantage of any opportunities that arise. In the event of redundancy at the latest, employees should react quickly and use all job search channels. The new labor market situation also has consequences for the role of personnel service providers: facilitating long-term, flexible employment relationships is becoming less important. On the other hand, supporting jobseekers in their rapid integration into the labor market is becoming more relevant. A role that personnel service providers are familiar with. In 2022, 55% of temporary workers - in a survey conducted by gfs-zürich on behalf of swissstaffing - stated that they work through a recruitment agency because it takes care of the job search for them.
Source: www.swissstaffing.ch
