Swiss Skills Shortage Index

Zurich, 28 November 2024 – The current economic downturn is reducing the skills shortage: 2024 saw a drop of 18 percent, following a 24-percent increase in the Skills Shortage Index during the previous year. This downward trend relates to most professional groups, especially IT. Nevertheless, demand for skilled workers is still higher than before the pandemic. This is highlighted by the Swiss Skills Shortage Index published by the Adecco Group Switzerland and the Swiss Job Market Monitor project undertaken by the University of Zurich.

2024 marked a turning point in the skills shortage. Over the last two years, the catch-up effect from the
coronavirus pandemic meant that the 2023 Swiss Skills Shortage Index reached a record high, increasing by another 24 percent. This year, the index fell by 18 percent, bringing it back down to near 2022 levels.

This drop is reflected in the two main elements of the skills shortage: firstly, 7 percent fewer jobs were
advertised this year, as highlighted by the decline in the Job Index. Secondly, the unemployment rate rose from 2 to 2.4 percent.

“The economic downturn has had a tangible impact on the Swiss labour market this year. However, the
market still remains robust: there are still more job vacancies than there were before the pandemic, and
despite a small rise, the unemployment rate remains at a historically low level. This means that the skills shortage is an issue that companies will still have to deal with in the future. In order to tackle the skills shortage for the long-term and remain competitive, companies will increasingly need to invest in their staff and offer targeted retraining and further training measures.”

Marcel Keller, Country President Adecco Group Switzerland

Healthcare specialists remain at the top

As was the case in the previous year, healthcare specialists (e.g. specialist doctors, qualified nursing staff or pharmacists) remain at the top of the skills shortage rankings, even though the shortage has declined significantly compared with the previous year. Second place is newly occupied by foremen, site supervisors and production managers (e.g. site managers, painting foremen, mechanical engineering managers), followed in third place by electricians and electronic technicians (e.g. electrical fitters, electrical engineers and service engineers).

The professional group of software and IT app developers and analysts (e.g. SAP consultants, software engineers or ICT quality managers), which was in second place last year, has now moved down to seventh. Engineering and comparable specialists (e.g. mechanical technicians, heating planners or microsystems engineers) also saw a considerable easing in the skills shortage, causing them to slide from third place into fourth.

“Since last year, the skills shortage for software and IT app developers and analysts has eased significantly. One factor that could explain this drop is the use of AI in software development. As highlighted by a study conducted by Bain & Company, the strategic use of AI can boost productivity by up to 30%.”

Benjamin Déglon, Head of Business Department Consulting & Solutions Akkodis Switzerland

If you look at the professional groups with the largest surplus of skilled workers, it is clear that unskilled
workers (e.g. window cleaners, road markers, furniture removers) are the most heavily affected by an
excess number of workers and are therefore sitting in last place (32nd place). As in the previous year,
office workers with customer contact (e.g. postal workers, bank tellers, telephone advisers) are in 31st
place. General office and secretarial staff and other office staff (e.g. clerks, personnel administrators,
proofreaders) also have a notable surplus in 30th place.

Widespread easing of the skills shortage

If you take a closer look at how the skills shortage has evolved, it is evident that 28 of the 32 professional groups have seen it ease this year. This is particularly true of IT specialists such as software and IT app developers and analysts, ICT, database and network specialists (e.g. database specialists, system administrators or network specialists) and information and communications technicians (e.g. application managers, webmasters or radio and TV technicians), for whom the number of job seekers has risen particularly strongly and vacancies have fallen significantly.

The skills shortage has also seen a major fall for general office and secretarial staff, office workers with
customer contact, and marketing and communications specialists, administrative specialists and graduate professions in MINT fields.

“IT professions, jobs in administration, management and communications, and people working in research and development have been particularly affected by the economic slowdown. Uncertain times, high investment costs and decreasing margins may prompt companies to be more cautious about major expenditure and investment. This often impacts IT projects and research investment. However, administration-related restructuring measures are often implemented during more economically difficult periods in order to boost efficiency and cut costs.”

James Peck, VP LHH Recruitment Solutions Switzerland

There was a moderately negative trend for healthcare and finance specialists, as well as industry-related
professional groups, office workers in the fields of finance, law and material management, and managers. Construction professions, service professions such as sales and gastronomy specialists, teachers, and auxiliary workers saw the smallest drop in the skills shortage.

“Jobs in sectors that are more heavily geared towards the domestic market, such as hospitality or retail, may benefit from steadily robust private consumption. This means that the fall in demand for these professional groups has been smaller, despite the economic downturn.”

Yanik Kipfer, Swiss Job Market Monitor

Three of the 32 professional groups have stayed at the same level as in the previous year. These
professional groups are electricians and electronic technicians, care professions (e.g. childminders,
nursing assistants or out-patient care staff) and plant operators and drivers (e.g. train drivers, loading
machine drivers or bus drivers). Although the number of job seekers in these professional groups has
increased compared with the previous year, the number of vacancies has also increased.

‘Whilst electricians and electronic technicians are presumably benefiting from ongoing energy refurbishments and investments in building technology, booming tourism may have bolstered demand for vehicle drivers. Care professions, on the other hand, are often exposed to high levels of stress and
challenging working conditions, reducing their appeal and making it particularly difficult to retain workers for the long term.’

Martin Meyer, VP Adecco Operations Switzerland

Protective services, security staff and other personal service professions (e.g. security guards, police
officers or tour guides) is the only professional group that saw a slightly increased skills shortage.

‘Compared with the previous year, 2024 saw numerous large-scale events, such as the Summit on Peace
in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock resort and the Cycling and Para-cycling Road World Championships in
Zurich, as well as international events such as the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football
Championship. In addition, tourism reached record levels in the summer. Due to the increased terror threat, security measures in Switzerland were also strengthened. These factors could explain the slight increase in skills shortages for protective services, security staff and other personal service professions.’

Marcel Keller, Country President of Adecco Group Switzerland

Language regions: easing more pronounced in German-speaking Switzerland

There has been a significant drop in the skills shortages in both German-speaking Switzerland and Latin Switzerland. The skills shortage in German-speaking Switzerland fell by 19 percent whilst Latin Switzerland saw a slightly more moderate drop of 15 percent. This puts the two language regions back at a similar level to 2022, although both are still sitting way above the long-term average.

It is striking that the number of job seekers in both regions rose significantly more strongly than the number of job vacancies fell. In German-speaking Switzerland, the number of job seekers rose by 14 percent whilst vacancies dropped by 8 percent. Development in Latin Switzerland was similar, with the number of job seekers increasing by 11 percent and vacancies falling 5 percent.

‘The impact of the economic downturn is more clearly discernible in German-speaking Switzerland than in Latin Switzerland. It is assumed that German-speaking Switzerland has been more heavily affected by Germany’s weakened economy due to its proximity to the border.’

Marcel Keller, Country President of Adecco Group Switzerland

In collaboration with the Job Market Monitor Switzerland (SMM) at the Sociological Institute of the University of Zurich, Adecco Group Switzerland publishes annually a comprehensive and a short study on the skilled labor shortage in Switzerland. The scientifically based studies on skilled labor shortages reveal which professions have a particularly high and which have a particularly low number of vacancies in comparison to job seekers. Additionally, long-term comparisons over time allow for the identification of intensifications and easements in the skilled labor shortage per profession.