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Zurich, 23 October 2024 – The number of job vacancies has fallen significantly compared with the previous year, as highlighted by the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index. However, the situation stabilised in the third quarter of 2024 and the number of job offers increased slightly. The construction industry is a vital linchpin of the Swiss economy. Although the number of job vacancies in construction professions also fell compared with last year, demand for these specialists has remained at a high level. There is also expected to be a further increase in demand for construction specialists in the future. This is shown by the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index, a scientifically substantiated study conducted by the Adecco Group Switzerland and the University of Zurich’s Swiss job market monitor.
The Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index remained stable for the third quarter of 2024, bringing the negative trend of the previous three quarters to an end for the time being. The number of job vacancies saw a very small two-percent rise compared with the second quarter of 2024, thus essentially stagnating at a similar level. The index value was 12 percent below the same quarter of the previous year (Q3 2023).
“Although the Job Index was 12 percent below the previous year’s value and the unemployment figure rose by more than 22,400 people compared with the previous year, there are also signs of positive development. For example, the number of job vacancies did not continue to fall in the third quarter. In addition, in the summer, Swiss companies’ employment prospects rose once again for the first time in two years. A glance at the KOF Economic Barometer indicates that the Swiss economy is gradually recovering once again. However, this recovery is dependent on how the geopolitical situation develops.”
Marcel Keller, Country President Adecco Group Switzerland
Swiss construction professions: demand still high despite slight decline
The construction industry is a key linchpin of the Swiss economy. According to the Swiss Contractors’ Association, the construction sector makes up 10% of Switzerland’s GDP, and figures from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office for 2023 put 6.6% of the working population in the construction industry. The crucial role played by the construction industry can also been seen in the demand for construction specialists: demand for construction professions has increased hugely over the last eight years. The number of job vacancies has risen 70% since 2016. In addition, job trends for construction specialists were more dynamic than those for Swiss jobs as a whole.
It is striking that job trends have seen rapid growth, especially after the pandemic year in 2020. Despite some challenges at the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, demand remained stable, as extensive construction site closures were only sporadic and brief. From 2021 onwards there was a key upward trend in job vacancies, reaching its peak in 2023. Strong economic recovery, the favourable financing environment thanks to negative interest and the new life circumstances prompted by working from home all created increased demand for construction and development measures. This then fuelled demand for construction specialists.
Slowing upward trend
We are now seeing a slowdown in the positive trend from recent years. The number of job vacancies in 2024 was seven percent lower than in the previous year. There are various reasons for this: firstly, economic growth has slowed, meaning that companies are being more cautious about investing in construction. Secondly, since late 2022, the end of the era of low interest rates has made real estate investment more expensive, particularly for residential construction projects. Furthermore, high construction material prices are driving up the cost of construction projects. These factors result in fewer new orders, less construction activity and, ultimately, falling demand for construction specialists.
Jobs with planning and leadership roles in particular saw a decline in vacancies compared with the previous year. The number of job advertisements for architects and civil engineers thus fell by 17 percent. The site supervisors, foremen and team leaders in the mainstream construction industry professional group saw nine percent fewer vacancies. By comparison, the development specialists and related jobs professional group (e.g. roofers, glass installers and decorators) saw job advertisements fall by five percent. The smallest negative trend was in construction specialists and related jobs (e.g. joiners, boat builders and blind fitters), which remained virtually unchanged from the previous year with a drop of just two percent in job advertisements.
Although the number of job vacancies for construction specialists fell somewhat in the current year, job advertisements still remained at a historic high. In addition, there are many indications that construction specialists will remain in strong demand in the future. According to a study conducted by the Swiss Contractors’ Association, by 2040 the mainstream construction industry will be lacking around 16% of the staff it needs, representing some 5,600 specialists.
“Rising population numbers and limited quantities of vacant dwellings will create increased demand for living space and boost construction activities. In addition, many people employed in the construction industry will be retiring soon. These factors will also further drive demand for construction specialists in the future.”
Yanik Kipfer, Swiss Job Market Monitor
The Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index measures the changes in job offerings - the number of publicly advertised positions - in Switzerland. The index is representative of the entire job market, including listings in the press*, on company websites, and on online job portals. It is based on comprehensive counts of job postings and regular company surveys. Thanks to the cooperation with Adecco, the index, created by the SMM, has been available quarterly since March 2008. A PDF document with more detailed information on the data basis and methodology is available for download at the end of this page. Additionally, the current index values, which are published at the beginning of April, July, October, and January, are available as an Excel file**.
* Due to the declining significance of the press for job advertisements, the number of job ads in the press has not been included in the calculations of the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index since the second quarter of 2018.
** As the job market is constantly evolving and we accordingly adjust and improve our survey methods, it may happen that the currently published numbers slightly differ from previously published numbers.
In collaboration with the Adecco Group Switzerland and as part of the current Job Index publication, the Job Market Monitor Switzerland of the Sociological Institute of the University of Zurich examines which skills companies are looking for. In job advertisements, companies provide information about the necessary and desired characteristics, skills and knowledge for a position, with particular emphasis on those requirements that are not (yet) taken for granted.
The results presented here are based on the Job Index data (Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index) for the period from the 3rd quarter of 2014 to the 1st quarter of 2024. This quarterly data includes data from the 12 largest Swiss job platforms. It is also based on job advertisements from almost 1,500 company websites, which represent a random sample stratified by industry and company size that is representative for Switzerland.
Over a period of ten years, information on the skills in demand was extracted from job advertisements in German, French, Italian, English and other foreign languages. These advertisements come from companies in German-speaking Switzerland as well as French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland. The importance of the individual skills for the occupational group was determined on the basis of the relative deviation from the average value across all occupational groups.