The average unemployment rate was 2.0 percent in 2023, as the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) announced. The value is therefore lower than it has been since 2001. At that time the rate was 1.7 percent. The good situation on the labor market is offset by the problem of a shortage of skilled workers.
“The year 2023 was excellent,” summarized Boris Zürcher, head of the Labor Directorate at Seco, with a view to the labor market statistics. “Many labor market indicators are at historic lows or highs, depending on what exactly is at stake.”
In absolute numbers, an average of 93,536 people were registered as unemployed last year, 6.1 percent fewer than the year before. Declines could be seen in all regions, age categories and also among women and men. And the proportion of long-term unemployed also fell significantly.
Health sector supports labor market
One reason for the good situation on the labor market is that many new jobs have been created in recent years. What is remarkable is that a large proportion of these new positions were created in the areas of health and social affairs, as Zürcher says. “Health is probably the most expensive commodity of all. And if incomes develop well, then more services in these areas will be in demand.” This demand boosts employment.
People go to the doctor even when the economy is weak, explains Zürcher. “This means that Switzerland as a whole may become a little more resilient to the economy.” This will stabilize the Swiss economy and thus also employment.
Caption: Everyday life in the Inselspital in Bern: Employment in the health sector stabilizes the Swiss labor market. Keystone/GAETAN BALLY
“For a good 20 years, upward swings in unemployment have been less pronounced,” says Zürcher. Overall, the number of people without work is decreasing. “This has to do with the fact that many industries are not exposed to economic cycles.”
The unemployment rate has increased moderately over the past year. From Seco’s perspective, this is likely to continue. For the year as a whole, economists forecast that the unemployment rate will remain very low at 2.3 percent.
This is not a trend reversal, says Zürcher: “This is normalization. It is a movement towards a somewhat more balanced labor market development.”
Skilled labor shortages remain a problem
This normalization should also ease the shortage of skilled workers somewhat. But it won’t solve the problem. In addition to the economic situation, there are also structural reasons for the shortage: model calculations show that significantly more people will retire in the coming years than new workers will enter the labor market. The peak of this development will not be reached until around 2030, according to Seco.
In order to address the shortage of skilled workers, the workforce potential must be used even better, demands Zürcher. He sees potential in the continued employment of older workers or in a better work-life balance, especially for women.