Job Index Q3 / 2018

Sustained growth since end of 2015

Zurich, 4 October 2018 – Swiss companies published 6 percent more job advertisements in the third quarter of 2018 than in the previous year. This is reflected in the scientifically substantiated survey of the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index conducted by the Swiss Job Market Monitor from the University of Zurich. This increase is due to a combination of strong demand for management and organisational positions along with the dynamic development of the job market in the Lake Geneva Region.

The Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index was 6 percent higher in the third quarter of 2018 than in the autumn of the previous year. With a 2 percent increase, the index remains stable compared to the previous quarter. When adjusted for seasonal effects, an increase of just one percent is evident in comparison with the preceding quarter. Nicole Burth, CEO of The Adecco Group Switzerland, commented: “Overall, the positive trend visible since the end of 2015 is continuing.”

High demand for employees in organisational and management professions

Following a marked rise in the number of job advertisements for management and organisational positions (e.g. specialists in business, project management, and organisation) over the last three quarters, demand remains high in this quarter as well. Advertised positions for these professions have risen 25 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

“Accordingly, Switzerland is currently investing in management and organisation. The reason for this could be the increasingly networked and more volatile business world, where project-based business processes result in a demand for trained staff in management and organisational occupations,” explained Jan Müller from the Swiss Job Market Monitor from the University of Zurich. “Since new projects often include an important digital component or are related to an automation process, it is not surprising that the demand for IT employees is growing at the same time,” Nicole Burth added. A yearly comparison reveals a significant increase (+15%) in job advertisements for IT professions as well (e.g. programmers, app developers, system engineers). IT jobs have been experiencing a positive trend since the beginning of 2017. Occupations in the industrial and transport sectors have also seen a year-on-year increase (+12%). The growth during this quarter is due in part to a stronger demand for specialists in the metal and electrical industry. As evidenced by its number one ranking in the Global Innovation Index, Switzerland is especially innovative. Within Switzerland, innovation levels are particularly high in the areas of IT and communication technology, as well as in the mechanical and electrical industry . “This innovation gives us a competitive edge internationally, which boosts the growth of new jobs in the IT and industrial occupational groups,” added Burth.

The number of job advertisements across almost all occupational groups grew this winter compared to the previous year. This growth was particularly strong – with a rise of 23% – in management and organisational professions (e.g. business, division and project managers or organisational experts), which was a significant development that became visible as early as the end of 2017. With growth of 17% in jobs, IT specialists such as software developers are also currently in higher demand than in the previous year. We have been witnessing this development for several quarters already. “Business and production processes are being updated constantly, driven by digitisation and automation. Companies are continuing to hire supervisory staff from the occupational groups of management and organisational as well as IT specialists to help implement these optimisations,” added Burth.
The number of job advertisements in the teaching and public service professions (e.g. teachers or educators) also rose during the winter quarter with growth of 15% compared to the previous year and with growth of 10% compared to the previous quarter. “We predict that based on the growing number of school-aged children in most age groups, more teaching staff in general will be required,” added Anna von Ow from the Swiss Job Market Monitor.

Lake Geneva Region: Has it finally peaked?

Unusually strong growth in the area of job advertisements was seen once again in the Lake Geneva Region compared to last year. Companies in this region posted 21 percent more job advertisements in the third quarter of 2018 than they did in the third quarter of the previous year. After three quarters in which the staffing demand rose at an above-average rate, however, a comparison with the 2018 summer quarter now shows that this trend is not continuing (-1%) for the present. In Eastern Switzerland (+9%) and the Espace Mittelland (+8%), the number of posted jobs also grew compared to the corresponding quarter last year. In the other regions, there were only comparatively small changes to be seen in the number of job advertisements. The number of vacant positions in Northwestern Switzerland (+4%), Central Switzerland (+3%) and the Greater Zurich Area (+1%) remained comparatively stable.

When compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year, the demand in industrial and construction professions increased very significantly in the Lake Geneva Region (+64%). We have been observing this strong growth in industrial and construction jobs for over two years now. “The growth is due in part to the lower Swiss franc. In the Lake Geneva Region, the staffing demand in these occupations suffered a particularly large setback following the sudden devaluation of the franc in 2015. Thanks to robust growth during the last two years, however, demand for staff in the industrial and construction professions has recovered. In the meantime, the index of the number of vacant positions has once again reached a similar level to the other job groups,” Jan Müller commented. The other occupational groups in the Lake Geneva Region also experienced stronger demand. The technology and IT (+29%), business services (+17%), and personal and social services (+10%) occupational groups all demonstrated a rise in job advertisements.

In German-speaking Switzerland, the staffing demand in Eastern Switzerland increased the most (+9%). “At the beginning of 2016, Eastern Switzerland reached its lowest point since the introduction of comparative measurement (end of 2014). Since then, the number of advertised jobs has recovered and is now back to where it was at the end of 2014,” Jan Müller explained. The rise in the number of job advertisements in Eastern Switzerland compared to the corresponding quarter last year can be attributed primarily to an increase in demand for employees in business services (+16%) and technology and IT (+12%) professions.

Importance of print media as advertising channel sinks dramatically

According to our company surveys, print media now has almost no relevance when it comes to advertising job vacancies. As a result, as of the second quarter of 2018, the number of job advertisements published in the print media will no longer be factored into the calculations of the job index.

• Job index and the GDP: Strong correlation 
• Importance of print media as advertising channel 

Note regarding data collection: Optimisation

Based on revisions to the Adecco Group Job Market Index, some of the figures listed in this media release differ slightly from the figures published earlier. The revisions serve to align the index with a constantly changing job market. They pertain above all to the regional allocation of advertisements, the allocation of individual job titles to job groups, and the multiple publication of job advertisements. The revisions are intended to optimise the index, and therefore do not render the earlier published figures invalid in any way.