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Swiss job market sees more growth in second quarter of 2023

restaurant outdoor area with seating
The hotel and catering sector saw a considerable uptick in new jobs. © Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

Employment in the country continued to grow between April and June this year, while the total number of open positions fell, according to statistics published on Friday.

The industry and service sectors posted an overall year-on-year increase of 2.2%, with a total of 5.432 million jobs filled or 4.235 million full-time equivalents, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said in its regularly published update.

The Zurich region recorded the highest rate of increase, at 3.4%, while Ticino came in second with 0.6%. The Lake Geneva region recorded growth of 2.2%.

+ Read more: a Q2 check-up for the Swiss economy

The hotel and catering sector (+4.3%), severely affected by Covid-19, has since maintained its position at the top of the rankings since the end of the pandemic. It is followed by business services (+2.6%). Construction (+1.4%), trade (+2.2%) and education (+2.2%) show the most modest increases.

However, the number of vacancies announced by companies fell by 2.3% to 124,700.

Companies are seeing a slight easing in recruitment difficulties. The situation has improved most in the hotel and catering sector, while it remains difficult in the machinery and other equipment industry.

+ Stats and figures about foreign workers in Switzerland

Finally, the proportion of companies planning to hire fell to 14%, compared with 15.9% a year earlier. The employment outlook indicator fell by 1.1% to 1.06 points, particularly in the Zurich region (-2.7% to 1.06 points).

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