Swiss salary trends 2025: financial sector and human resources pay the best
The Michael Page Salary Survey and Recruitment Trends 2025 show that the financial sector continues to pay the highest salaries for managers. This is closely followed by specialists in human resources. In the last twelve months, the highest average pay increases of 18 to 25 percent were seen in the metal trading, tax and sales sectors.
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Commodity trading, legal and sales have the highest wage increases
Metal traders recorded the highest wage increase at 25 percent. Tax lawyers saw a 20% increase and multilingual sales managers saw an 18% increase. Geopolitical events, supply chain disruptions and fluctuations in demand have led to significant volatility in the commodity markets. This volatility enabled traders to make higher profits. This has led to higher wages as it is crucial for companies to secure their supply chains in such volatile times.
Legal experts and their employees are in demand due to the weakening economy, as only moderate growth is forecast for 2025. As a result, there is a high demand for applicants in legal departments to handle the associated growing legal challenges. This increased demand has led to upward pressure on salaries for these positions.
In addition, companies are expanding their sales teams in order to increase turnover and cushion the impact of the economic downturn. Positions such as sales managers, sales engineers and technical sales specialists are in high demand.
Other positions that have seen a ten percent pay rise in the last twelve months are mainly in the financial sector. The average salaries of compliance officers and accountants in banking rose by eleven percent. Average salaries in key roles in the insurance industry, such as senior insurance account managers and internal pension fund managers, have also risen by eleven percent.
Most wages will stagnate
With geopolitical tensions on the rise and inflation expected to fall to one percent, employers are very cautious when it comes to staff numbers and wages. At the same time, applicants are cautious about starting a new job in an uncertain environment. As a result, wages for most jobs will stagnate.
Yannick Coulange, Managing Director of Michael Page Switzerland, explains: "There is a strong demand for candidates who can help overcome business challenges and achieve ambitious sales targets. The demand for specialists in critical areas such as IT, who focus on cost savings and optimizing business processes, remains high."
Source: www.michaelpage.ch
