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Switzerland’s financial sector losing importance

Paradeplatz in Zurich
View of Paradeplatz in Zurich, Switzerland's largest financial centre. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Switzerland’s financial sector is losing importance as a share of gross domestic product (GDP). In 2018, it represented 9.1% (CHF62.8 billion), down from 11.1% (CHF67 billion) ten years earlier. 

This figure is based on a report published on Monday by the State Secretariat for International Financial MattersExternal link (SIF), which also shows that the number of jobs in the financial sector fell from 211,939 to 204,265 in the period under review. The proportion of finance sector employees in the total workforce fell from 5.9 to 5.2% in the past ten years.

However, the financial sector continues to be an important source of public revenue. In 2016, the tax revenue paid by companies and employees amounted to CHF6.5 billion (7.5% of the total), compared to CHF5.8 billion in 2012.

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