Tag Archives: Work

In 2018, some 28% of Swiss unemployment benefits exported abroad were destined for Portugal. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The number of people drawing on Swiss unemployment benefits while searching for a job in the European Union has risen sharply in the last five years. Foreigners returning home make up the largest share, according to government data analysed by SonntagsBlick. Anyone losing their job in Switzerland...

Dining out is less likely on a lower wage. (© KEYSTONE / GAETAN BALLY) The pay gap between men and women in Switzerland has increased slightly, amounting to hundreds of francs per month on average. Men earned 19.6% more pay than female colleagues in 2016, compared to a 19.5% difference in 2012. While some of this gap can be explained by length of service, additional qualifications and the like, in more than four out of...

Not quite 10% walk to work in Switzerland; more than half drive. Nine out of ten employees in Switzerland – or four million people total – commuted to work last year, most of them to another municipality, and most by car. In 2017, the average one-way Swiss commute was 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) and took 30.6 minutes, reported the Federal Statistical Officeexternal link on Tuesday. Some 71% of commuters traveled to...

The rise of service sector jobs will continue to boost part-time positions. Part-time work in Switzerland continues to increase, with the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office showing that over a third of employees work less than 90%. The figures, said the statistical office on Thursdayexternal link, show a marked increase in part-time work over the past 20 years: from 26.3% to 36.7%. This puts Switzerland...

By 2040 the number of retired people in Switzerland is expected to reach 2.6 million, up from 1.6 million at present. (Keystone) Switzerland’s workforce is in good shape but perhaps not for long, according to a new study by the consulting firm Deloitte. Tapping existing pools of talent including older workers and women are key to helping companies meet future demands for skilled labour. In its latest future of work...

Not quite down-at-the-heel (© KEYSTONE / GAETAN BALLY) On average, heads of large Swiss corporations have suffered a marked drop in salary. In 2017, the median wage of the heads of 20 leading companies dropped by nearly 30%. According to the executive compensation report published by consulting firm PwCexternal link on Tuesday, the median salary of the heads of 20 firms in the leading SMI index fell from CHF7.7 million...

The gross median monthly salary in Switzerland is CHF6,502 (2018). The pharmaceutical industry and insurance companies have overtaken banking as the best paid sectors in Switzerland, according to the NZZ am Sonntag. In 2016, bank executives took home an average gross salary of CHF220,000 ($220,394) per year, which is CHF 40,000 less than ten years ago. The pharmaceutical sector, in contrast, is paying CHF280,000. The...

A Spitex employee checks on an old lady at her home in Biel, northwestern Switzerland Better at home than in a home: almost 350,000 people made use of assistance and home-care services (Spitex) last year, 10,000 more than in 2016. In contrast, the number of residents of old-age and nursing homes remained constant at 149,000, 15% of them for a short stay. Spitexexternal link, a Swiss non-profit organisation that provides...

The demonstration in Lausanne was the latest in a series of regional protests against plans by the employers in the building sector. (Keystone) Construction workers have continued their protests against worsening labour conditions in Switzerland. An estimated 4,000 people took to the streets of Lausanne on Monday in the latest stage of a series of short regional strikes underway since mid-October. The trade unions have...

Radiologists are some of the best medical earners (Keystone) The salaries of self-employed doctors in Switzerland are around a third higher than previously thought, according to a study by the Federal Office of Public Health. The median wage is CHF257,000 ($258,000). However, certain specialists can earn considerably more: neurosurgeons, for example, take home a median salary of CHF697,000 and gastroenterologists...