Switzerland is recruiting 85,000 foreign workers – the fake news that never dies

Fake news about Switzerland goes viral. Cellule data - Captures d'écran

A fake news story that has gone viral claims that Switzerland is facing a severe labour shortage and is recruiting massively abroad. Swiss public broadcaster RTS investigated the origins of these false claims that keep resurfacing.

It’s a news story that has been causing a stir on social media for weeks. The claim: Switzerland is facing a serious labour shortage, forcing it to recruit 85,000 foreign workers without qualifications who are paid between €3,500-6,500 (CHF3,268-6,070).

Picked up by influencers, republished in magazines and widely shared by internet users, the story has sparked widespread interest, from France to Tunisia. It’s a story that seems too good to be true – exactly, it’s a perfect example of a fake news story that has gone viral.

“The intentional spread of false content, called disinformation, is now widespread in digital and traditional media,” confirmed Patrick Haack, professor of strategy and responsible management at HEC Lausanne, the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Lausanne. “In this case, it is probably ‘clickbait’ content, that is, designed to attract clicks through exaggerated or misleading headlines and visuals.”

The Swiss do not seem to be particularly good at separating truth from lies, according to a 2024 study by the OECD:

The story appears to have all the right elements to generate clicks: attractive salaries, postcard images, Switzerland’s reputation as an eldorado, set against a backdrop of economic tensions.

SECO denies it

RTS contacted the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to find out more but with limited success. “SECO cannot determine the origin of this data. According to our research, it does not come from our services, nor from the Federal Statistical Office. We recommend the utmost caution when interpreting these figures,” said Fabian Maienfisch, SECO spokesperson.

According to RTS research, this fake news story has reappeared frequently since 2022 thanks to journalists and influencers. Some of the tricks used are crude: sources are never named, and information is often incorrect or incomplete. Some publications, for example, refer to a “law” that Switzerland allegedly passed urgently to recruit these 85,000 workers.

Yet some elements are correct: the health or hospitality sectors are struggling to recruit. And the salaries mentioned are real.

“At first glance, this information may seem credible, especially as there is often some truth to it,” says Haack. “The emotions with which the fake story resonates, combined with this plausibility, facilitate virality. As a result, the information keeps reappearing, repeatedly.”

Adecco as a gateway?

But where did this mysterious 85,000 jobs figure come from? The Swiss recruitment agency Adecco is often cited in articles as a gateway to these famous jobs. By tracing back through the group’s press releases, RTS came across this number but in a completely different context. In February 2024, Adecco committed to recruiting 85,000 refugees and training 17,000 people worldwide by the end of 2027. There was no direct link to Switzerland and the serious labour shortage mentioned in the articles. But it is a coincidence that helps serve as an echo chamber for the false information.

“We were not aware of the existence of this fake news story,” said Nadia Vitale, Adecco Group spokesperson. “In our Swiss Skills Shortage Index 2025 published last week, we found on the contrary that the shortage is easing for the second consecutive year due to the economic slowdown.”

What is your opinion? Join the debate:

A 2022 figure taken out of context

A 2022 article in Blick points to another possible source. The recruitment agency Dynajobs is mentioned alongside the jobs figure. Its expertise is difficult to establish, however. For example, no clients are mentioned on the company’s website. In January 2022, the director of Dynajobs published an analysis of the post-Covid labour market, in which he estimated a shortage of around 85,000 skilled workers in Switzerland to attain pre-pandemic growth levels. It is difficult to understand exactly how the author came up with this surprising calculation. It seems to be the right number, except that it has been completely taken out of its original context and twisted into a perfect false story.

“This is a typical case of viral disinformation,” says Haack. “The Swiss federal government is wrong to take it lightly. On the contrary, it should develop a defence strategy, because this type of fake news damages the country’s image. At the last World Economic Forum (WEF) summit, disinformation and fake news were declared to be the greatest short-term risk to the planet, surpassing climate change and armed conflicts. It is time to take them seriously.”

Adapted from German with support from AI/cm/sb