Summary:
Over-55s account for less than 10% of new hires
Keystone-SDA
Listen to the article
Listening the article
Toggle language selector
English (US)
Over-55s account for less than 10% of new hires
Keystone-SDA
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Only 8% of Swiss jobs are filled by people aged 55 and over, even though this age group represents 23% of the working population, says insurer Swiss Life.
While the integration of older employees is good in Switzerland by international comparison, people who lose their jobs over the age of 55 often find it difficult to find new work. When the retirement age has passed, at 65 and over, only 16% of employers are clearly willing to hire, and 28% can “rather envisage it”, note the authors of the study.
When asked about the ideal retirement age for men, 46% of employers indicated an age below 65. Only 15% of employers surveyed set the ideal retirement age at 66 or over. In the case of women, 58% of employers believe that the ideal retirement age is below 65.
Half of all companies note that finding qualified staff is a difficult task. Yet only 22% see hiring older employees as a solution, and 13% encourage working beyond retirement age. And yet, this reserve of manpower is considerable, insofar as people aged between 55 and 70 represent around a fifth of the available potential workforce.
“It is conceivable that, in the future, a worsening of the demographic shortage of skilled labor will boost the labor market for those aged 55 and over, and in particular those aged 65 and over, and that the corresponding labor force potential will be more fully tapped,” says Andreas Christen, Head of Pension Research at Swiss Life Switzerland.
The data is taken from an online survey based on responses from around 1,000 human resources managers working in companies employing at least four people.
More
How should we tackle the shortage of skilled workers in Switzerland?
Are you also affected in your company or your field of work? Tell us about your experiences!
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to [email protected].
More
Black Friday gets off to a slow start in Swiss shops
This content was published on
Black Friday has established itself as one of the biggest shopping events in Switzerland in recent years. On Friday, however, business was rather slow, especially in the stores.
This content was published on
The invasive Japanese beetle has been discovered in Valais, southwestern Switzerland. The canton now wants to stop the spread of the voracious plant pest.
Court overturns minimum wages in Zurich and Winterthur
This content was published on
The administrative court of canton Zurich has annulled the ordinance on the introduction of a municipal minimum wage in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Winterthur. It said the ordinances violated cantonal law.
Nominal Swiss wages up 1.5% in 2024, says latest estimate
This content was published on
Wages in Switzerland are likely to have risen slightly more in 2024 than previously assumed. However, some of this is likely to be eaten up by inflation.
CERN ends cooperation with institutes from Russia and Belarus
This content was published on
The cooperation agreement between CERN and Russia and Belarus will be terminated on Saturday, as previously announced. The move is a reaction to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
Swiss private bank Lombard Odier charged with serious money laundering
This content was published on
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has charged the private bank Lombard Odier and a former employee with serious money laundering.
This content was published on
The Swiss Air Force wants to halve the number of its demonstrations and exhibitions to save money. Participation abroad is planned only in exceptional cases from the beginning of 2025.
Updated free trade deal between Switzerland and China set for 2025
This content was published on
The enhanced free trade agreement between Switzerland and China is set to enter into force in 2025. This is the assumption of parliamentarian Thomas Aeschi, president of the EU-EFTA delegation.
Swiss government sees no need for special law on Sarco suicide capsule
This content was published on
Following the first use of the Sarco assisted suicide capsule in Switzerland in September, the government sees no need for legislative action for the time being.
This content was published on
The top three places of Switzerland's biggest fortunes remain unchanged in 2024, dominated by the co-owner of the Parisian label Chanel.
SWI swissinfo.ch – the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Since 1999, swissinfo.ch has fulfilled the federal government’s mandate to distribute information about Switzerland internationally, supplementing the online offerings of the radio and television stations of the SBC. Today, the international service is directed above all at an international audience interested in Switzerland, as well as at Swiss citizens living abroad.
by 
