Taking the step into self-employment: More and more people are taking the plunge
The start-up figures for the first half of the year confirm this: More and more people are taking the plunge into self-employment. This is shown by the IFJ study "National Analysis of Swiss Company Foundations 1st Half Year 2023". As of today, 25,836 new startups have already been recorded in the first half of 2023.
Taking the step into self-employment is more than just an option for more and more people in Switzerland: In the course of the first half of 2023, 145 new startups were registered every day. Thus, approximately 26,300 new companies can be expected by June 30, 2023. This corresponds to a new start-up record and represents a growth of 4.5% compared to
to the prior-year period in 2022 and an increase of 0.4% compared to the record half-year in 2021. These statistics confirm that young entrepreneurs continue to view Switzerland as an attractive business location, which is enormously important for the Swiss economy. According to the FSO, 57,067 new jobs were created in 2019 due to new companies. With the increase in start-ups, this number will continue to rise. Furthermore, new companies provide innovation. According to the latest data from the European Innovation Scoreboard 2022, Switzerland is in first place in this respect.
All regions report growth in start-ups
In the first half of 2023, Northwestern Switzerland (+9.0%), Espace Mittelland (+6.9%), Eastern Switzerland (+6.9%) and Ticino (+6.8%) are the major regions with the strongest growth. Zurich also recorded significant growth of +4.7% compared with the prior-year period. Only slight growth can be seen in the region of Central Switzerland (+0.9%) and Southwestern Switzerland (+0.8%). In the cantons of Nidwalden (+26.6%), Graubünden (+25.2%), Uri (+16.7%), a particularly large number of companies were founded, while there were slight declines in Valais (-0.4%), Schwyz (-1.6%) and Zug (-4.0%). However, the sharpest percentage declines in company formations were recorded in the commercial registry offices of the cantons of Obwalden (-10.8%) and Appenzell Ausserrhoden (-13.5%).
Start-ups by industry
Top growth industries in the current year include B2B & B2C services (including photography, facility management, horticulture) at +27.1%, transportation & logistics at +19.3%, and
Hairdressing & Cosmetics with +16.7%. The highest percentage declines are recorded in the sectors of agriculture & forestry with -17.2%, high-tech with -15.3% and printing & publishing with -12.5%. The highest number of companies are founded in the industries of handicrafts, consulting, real estate and retail trade. These four industries account for around 44% of all startups.
Source: IFJ Institute for Young Enterprises AG
