Swiss Jobs survey for Q2 "mixed", but good for Finance

You should have a look at the latest Manpower survey of the Swiss recruitment market for hiring for all jobs in Switzerland, as it makes interesting reading.

Following their usual exhaustive questioning methods and survey they have pulled together a dynamic view of the current state of recruitment trends in Switzerland. Overall just six percent of companies interviewed intend to recruit staff in the coming quarter. This balances against only 3 percent overall who believe they will be reducing head count and jobs in Switzerland. However when these figures are put through their "Net Employment Outlook" study, they are actually down on an annual basis when compared to last year.

Looking at the figures on a region breakdown is also interesting. Zurich is forecast to undergo a mini recruitment boom with the North West and Eastern regions to remain flat. However other regions, including Geneva, were forecast to feature a decrease in new jobs in Switzerland becoming available. Ticino leads that pack and Eastern Switzerland seems to be experiencing the largest downturn in hiring.

When the report breaks down Swiss recruitment activity into industrial sectors again we see widespread discrepancies. Whilst 8 out of 10 sectors expect to see an increase in jobs in Switzerland, these are warped by the seasonal hiring patterns for summer that many experience. However the finance sector leads the pack here with banking, insurance, real estate, fund and business services displaying the most optimistic forecast. The Swiss finance sector anticipates recruitment to rise by 7 % overall when compared to this time last year. So roll on a new wave of Swiss finance jobs and new Swiss recruitment mandates!