Actual Swiss wages increase by 0.5% in 2026

Actual wages 0.5 per cent, minimum wages 0.8 per cent in 2026 Keystone-SDA

Actual and minimum wages in Switzerland are set to rise by an average of 0.5% and 0.8% respectively in 2026. This was announced on Monday by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), based on the provisions of the main collective labour agreements (CLAs).

The average increase of 0.5% in actual wages, agreed by the social partners in the main collective labour agreements, was broken down into 0.3% at individual level and 0.2% at collective level. According to inflation forecasts for 2026 (+0.6%), real wages in sectors covered by collective agreements are not expected to rise this year. The agreements on actual wages cover just under 700,000 people.

In detail, the increase in actual wages was 0.2% in the secondary sector and 0.8% in the tertiary sector. Among the economic sectors, the largest increases were recorded in transport and storage (+1.2%), Financial and insurance activities (+1%) and professional, scientific and technical activities (+0.8%). Manufacturing and construction saw more modest increases, of 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.

As regards minimum wages, the average increase of 0.8% in 2026 follows rises of 1% in 2025 and 2% in 2024. More than 1.85 million people are covered by a collective labour agreement (CLA) that includes statutory provisions on minimum wages and for whom agreements have been concluded.

Minimum wage increases varied by sector: +0.3% in the secondary sector and +0.8% in the tertiary sector. Among the sectors, ‘unclassified activities’ (commercial employees and sales staff) stood out with +2.3%, followed by ‘financial and insurance activities’ (+1.8%) and ‘other service activities’ (+1.5%). The lowest increases were recorded in manufacturing (+0.1%) and accommodation and food service activities (+0.2%).

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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist.