Hire in Switzerland 2023 Guide | What Employers Need to Know

Overview of Switzerland

According to World Bank GDP rankings, Switzerland holds 18th position (2020) in the list with a total of US $824 billion. The service sector contributes around 72% to Swiss GDP, followed by the industrial sector contributing around 27%. Lastly, the agricultural sector only contributes 1%. The uninterrupted financial growth in the country and a steady economy have caught the eyes of many foreign elites that further contribute to the Swiss economy.

Total Population - 8,851,431 people

GDP – the US $831.52 billion (2024 est.)

Economic Overview

The country has done a commendable job tackling the pandemic with proper planning, restrictions on certain services, and supporting medical infrastructure. The country is now able to get back on its two feet and unlock many services so people can start working again. With a steady growth of 1%, which has not changed over the past many years, the country has managed to achieve a high Gross Domestic Product of US $660 billion.

Market Size

Despite being affected by the pandemic, the Swiss GDP is suggested to grow 3.4% in the years to come. The emerging sectors in Switzerland are mechanical, electrical engineering, pharmaceuticals, finance, banking, tourism, and shipping.

A brief glimpse of the industries

• High-end watches and clocks are mostly exported from Switzerland. This export made around US $19.3 billion in the past decade which is an increment of 19.2% from the last year. 55% of these are exported to Asia, 14% to America, and 29% to Europe.
• The industrial sector here is quite extensive, and several leading companies are competing to keep their feet intact. The food processing industry, robot parts manufacturing, military equipment, chemical industry, and construction are the most noticeable industries here.
• According to the CIA World Factbook, trade-in Switzerland generates around US$308.3 billion from all the exports. Germany is the leading trade partner of Switzerland, followed by the US and then China. The country exports high-tech products with fine quality and high demand. Traditionally, the manufacture of automobiles is also prominent here.
• The contribution sector here is the agricultural sector. The main reason behind this is the decreasing popularity of the occupation in the country.
• The tourism industry is booming here, with the excellent hotels and natural beauty all adding to the popularity of the tourism industry. Around the US $14.9 billion is added to the GDP by the tourism industry.

Cost of Living in Switzerland

Switzerland is an expensive place to visit and is ranked highly in terms of expenses and living costs. But even though the country is expensive, a few things here are considerably cheaper if compared to their prices in North America, such as travel, hiking, and electronics. The most affordable cities to live in here are Uri, Glarus, and Obwalden.

Cost of Renting

The only downside of living in Switzerland is the high prices of the apartments. A high-paying job can bring a promising lifestyle, but still, the authorities, along with certain private companies, are trying to ease up the costs, especially for the expats. The rent of a one-bedroom apartment is around US $ 1,400, and that of a three-bedroom apartment is around US $ 2,700. Mentioned below is the cost of living in prominent cities of Switzerland.

Cost of living depending upon your location

Mentioned below is the average cost of living across the leading cities of Switzerland, with metropolitan and tier-1 cities being more expensive compared to tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Top Skills required in Switzerland

There are a variety of skills that can fetch a person a decent job in Switzerland. The country produces high-tech products which show how skilled the workers are here and how particular the industries are in performance. Apart from this, the service sector heavily dominates the country, and thus skilled individuals are required to work here. Highly skilled technicians, researchers, professors, doctors, officers are all welcomed here.

Top Skills required in Switzerland:

• Engineering (automobile, electrical, etc.)
• Banking
• Pharmaceuticals
• IT
• Finance
• Tourism (Hospitality, entertainment, etc.)

City wise average salary and occupations

Even though the country is beautiful and expensive, the resources here are widely distributed in various regions, cities, and towns. Thus, each city has its own value and requires individuals with the said skills suitable to live in that region.

• Zurich: It is the largest city in Switzerland and is the lifestyle capital there as well as one of the most expensive places to live. The annual average salary noted in Zurich is the US $128,657. The most popular occupations here are military officers, accountants, pilots, and vets.
• Geneva: It is second-most populous after Zurich, with a majority French-speaking community. The city is a financial center and also the diplomacy center in the country. The annual average salary here is around US $124,758. The most popular occupations here are available in the technology sector and the hospitality industry.
• Lucerne: The city holds the majority German-speaking population of Switzerland and is surrounded by many lakes. Lucerne also has a Chapel Bridge, the first one erected in the 14th century. The annual average salary here is around the US $118,455. A few popular occupations here are IT, academics, health care, tourism (hospitality), and many more.

Hiring Cost

When employers are looking to hire new employees, they must be prepared to cover the cost of hiring. As the process is a lengthy one, there are various factors that contribute to determining the hiring cost -

• Onboarding and training expenses
• Interview process and cost involved
• Orientation expenses

Salaries in Switzerland

Variety of job profiles available in Switzerland along with the expected average salaries are mentioned below: -

Employment laws in Switzerland

Switzerland enjoys fairly relaxed labor laws, but that is determined by the provisions of the below mentioned laws and acts: -

• Code of Obligations
• The Labour Act (and its regulations)
• The Data Protection Act
• The Merger Act and
• the Ordinance against Excessive Compensation
• Terms agreed in the contract of employment
• The Participation Act
• The Gender Equality Act

Switzerland Remote Hiring Trends 2024

Growth in Hiring Activity

Job advertisements in Switzerland in the first quarter of 2022 rose by 47% compared to the same period last year. There were also 7% more jobs advertised in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. The increase in jobs advertised from one quarter to another shows that the demand for skilled workers is growing. Many Swiss companies are expanding their workforce as they accelerate their recovery efforts from the economic downturns brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

Jobs With the Highest Demand

Despite the economic downturns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing international supply crisis, the Swiss job market is doing well. Companies from almost all sectors are expanding their workforces.

In particular, there has been a rise in demand for jobs that require digital skills, such as Information and Communication Technology.

Some high-demand jobs that require digital skills in 2022 include:

• Information technology specialists
• Industry and production specialists
• Office and administration specialists
• Service industry and sales specialists
• Healthcare professionals

Top Companies Hiring in Switzerland 2024

Based on a survey of 15,000 employers, here are the top five companies hiring remotely in Switzerland:

• Roche: 14,400 employees
• Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne: 6,369 employees
• La Mobilière: 6,194 employees
• Rolex: 6,000 employees
• Google: 5,000 employees

Flexible Application of Social Security Rules

Beginning in 2020, Switzerland and its neighboring countries agreed to apply a " no-impact policy" to their social security systems. As a result, workers residing in Switzerland or any other EU member state are under the social security regulations of the country where their employer comes from. Also, remote workers are subjected to the same social security regulations as in-office workers are. This policy is set to continue until the end of 2022.

How Can Skuad Help You with Hiring in Switzerland?

Conducting your hiring processes in Switzerland can be a tiresome task with various steps involved. When your efforts can be utilized more productively elsewhere, then you must not waste your resources on conducting recruitments. Skuad’s unified employment solution can help in conducting recruitment processes. Connect with Skuad to know more.