Fifth of workers in Switzerland left their jobs last year

Over 20% of young workers left their job last year compared to around 5% for people over 55. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Young people and those who have worked in a job for less than two years are mostly likely to change jobs but only slightly more than a third of full-time workers ended up with a higher salary.

According to the latest professional mobility figuresExternal link published on Thursday, 19.2% of people in Switzerland changed, lost or left their jobs from 2018 to 2019. Just under 10% of those working in 2018 changed companies within a year, whereas almost 3% took a job within the same company. Less than 2% became unemployed and just under 5% left the workforce altogether.

Unsurprisingly, job shifts were more common among young people with nearly one in four employed persons aged 15 to 24 changing jobs (22.9%) compared to only 4.7% for those aged 55 to 64. The longer someone worked in a position, the less likely they were to change jobs. The turnover for people who had worked in a company for one or two years was 18.6% compared to just over 11% for those working 7-8 years in a job.

Most frequent job changes happened in the hotel and restaurant sectors as well as real estate. The most common reason to change jobs was poor work conditions (3%). Less than 1% quit a job for family reasons.

For nearly 38% of people who changed jobs, their employment status changed in some way. One out of five worked longer hours at their new job, and some 17% worked fewer hours. Some 37% of full-time workers who changed jobs had a higher salary; while 11% took home less pay.