Part-time work in Switzerland continues to increase, with the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office showing that over a third of employees work less than 90%.
This content was published on
1 minute
SDA-ATS/dos
Português
pt
Suíça tem o segundo maior número de trabalhadores a tempo parcial da Europa
This puts Switzerland second in Europe for part-time working, behind resounding leader the Netherlands, where 50.7% of the population work less than 100%. Swiss neighbours Germany (28.2%), France (18.8%) and Italy (18.7%) all have lower levels of part-time work; in Europe, Hungary (4.8%) and Bulgaria (2.4%) have the lowest levels.
Women in Switzerland are three times more likely than men to be working reduced hours (taking care of young children being the most frequent reason given), but the proportion of males taking on jobs below 100% has been increasing quicker.
Service sector jobs are most likely to be part-time, notably in the arts, private home work, teaching, health, and social sectors.
According to the Travail.Suisse unionExternal link, part-time workers will continue to increase in the coming years, due to the growth of the service sector and digitalisation. The rights and prospects for such workers need to be taken into account by politicians, the union says.
More
More
Earning a living: Working in Switzerland
This content was published on
Professionals from Europe and beyond are equally attracted to Switzerland by the comparatively high income levels.
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Switzerland is Europe’s most innovative country, EU study finds
This content was published on
In the European Commission's annual ranking, the Swiss score dropped slightly in 2025, but not enough to cost it top spot.
Women’s Euro 2025 has been largely peaceful so far
This content was published on
After two weeks of football fever in various Swiss host cities, no major incidents have been reported so far, police say.
Planned solar park at Bern airport scaled back after talks
This content was published on
The ground-mounted plant at Belpmoos Airport will be smaller than originally planned, the parties involved said on Tuesday.
This content was published on
“Lots of men feel responsible for their family’s financial security, they’re worried about their career being affected by their decision and they’re anxious about appearing unmotivated at work,” Jürg Wiler, co-leader of the ‘Teilzeitmann’ (Men Working Part-Time) campaign told swissinfo.ch Wiler is an advocate for men who want to achieve a bit more work-life balance…
Part-time work bad for mothers’ careers, stress levels
This content was published on
Working part-time is not only a career killer but also results in mothers being overburdened: since their partners work full-time, household chores and looking after the children fall to them, according to a study by the University of St Gallen, published in the SonntagsZeitung newspaper on Sunday. As a result, mothers are stressed at home…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.