Again as many job ads as before the Corona pandemic

The 3rd quarter of 2021 shows a significant increase in job advertisements: The Swiss Job Market Index is 9% above the previous quarter and compared to the previous year the increase is even 28%. "Companies continue the positive trend in their recruitment compared to the Corona year 2020 and the Adecco Job Index reaches pre-pandemic crisis levels for the first time in Q3 2021, which speaks for a clear recovery," explains Anna von Ow from Job Market Monitor Switzerland.

Promising development in the hospitality industry 

"The Hospitality industry has already experienced an upswing in Q2 2021. The number of overnight stays in the hotel industry also increased significantly. In the 3rd quarter of 2021, many more jobs have been advertised again for half a year for the severely beleaguered professions in the catering and hotel industry. And even if the pre-Corona level has not yet been completely reached again, the industry is currently struggling with major recruitment difficulties. Many employees in the hospitality sector found jobs in other industries during the Corona pandemic and now have significantly higher expectations in terms of working hours and location," explains Monica Dell'Anna, head of Adecco Group Switzerland.

First hit hard, now things are looking up again

Restaurants and hotels throughout Switzerland had to close their doors completely twice and were only allowed to reopen with limited operations until and including the first quarter of 2021. Consequently, the pre-Corona comparison shows: The professions of gastronomy and hotel business suffered losses in the number of advertised jobs in 2021 compared to the pre-Corona year 2019 (-36%). However, their magnitude differed between different occupations: Job ads for receptionists and porters decreased the most in 2021 with -52%, followed by ads for kitchen, service, laundry and cleaning assistants and other hospitality professionals with -46%, restaurant and hotel technicians with -43%, and cooks with -24%. Management and other managerial positions in restaurants and hotels fared the best, with a decline of -19%.

Recovery noticeable in the hospitality and hotel industry 

In the course of the opening steps and relaxations of the Corona measures and with the elimination of the restrictions on persons in June 2021, the industry got impetus again. The latest developments in job advertisements for professions in the hotel and catering industry confirm this: Over the summer half-year 2021, the number of job advertisements has again increased strongly compared to the previous winter half-year, which was characterized by the lockdown around the Christmas and New Year period and the restrictions in spring 2021.

"Also, during this period, hospitality businesses have reported many notifiable jobs to the RAV/Jobroom and the number of registered unemployed has dropped significantly again over the summer months. We at Adecco have seen a significant increase in mandates in the hospitality sector during this period, especially during the summer period of June, July, August. In this period, the number of mandates has increased by 61.8 %," explains Monica Dell'Anna.

Job ads in hospitality industry: not yet at pre-Corona level 

Despite the increase in job advertisements in the hospitality industry, the figures show that the peak of 139 points recorded in the winter half-year 2019/2020 has not yet been reached.

"The pre-Corona level of the index for hospitality occupations peaked just before mid-March 2020, so it will likely take some time for the job market for hospitality occupations to reach this level. The index of job postings for these occupations in the summer half-year 2021 is 14% lower than in the pre-Corona summer half-year 2019," adds Anna von Ow of Job Market Monitor Switzerland.

Source: Adecco Group