Press Releases

Starting from a fairly high level, the KOF Employment Indicator fell slightly in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter. This decline is the result of the deteriorating outlook in the retail, hospitality and manufacturing sectors. Overall, however, the Swiss labour market is expected to perform well in the current and coming quarters.

The KOF Employment Indicator shows a slight decrease in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter. Nevertheless, the indicator is still clearly in positive territory. Employment is therefore expected to continue to rise in the next months. Employment is only declining in the manufacturing sector.

Although the KOF Employment Indicator is falling in the third quarter of 2023, it remains in clearly positive territory. The deterioration in the employment outlook is limited to individual sectors which are affected more by global economic trends. Overall, we still expect to see employment growth in the Swiss labour market.

Starting from a high level, the KOF Employment Indicator is decreasing slightly. However, above-average employment growth on the Swiss labour market can still be expected in the current quarter.

After the KOF Employment Indicator declined slightly at the end of 2022, the labour market outlook in particular is now improving. The willingness of Swiss companies to create jobs remains unbroken despite economic risks.

For the first time in over two years the KOF Employment Indicator is falling. Starting from a high level, the employment outlook for the next three months in particular is deteriorating. The manufacturing sector is being especially squeezed.

The KOF Employment Indicator has risen this quarter as well. The renewed increase is due to modest improvements in almost all sectors. Employment expectations for the next three months, on the other hand, are being dampened slightly.

The KOF Employment Indicator continues to rise and is at its highest level since it was first introduced in 1992. Its renewed increase is due in particular to the hospitality industry.

The KOF Employment Indicator continues to rise and is at its highest level since 2000. Its further increase is mainly due to manufacturing and the wholesale sector. In the hospitality industry, on the other hand, the employment outlook has deteriorated somewhat.

The KOF Employment Indicator continues to rise and is at its highest level since 2008. The renewed increase is mainly due to the larger number of companies that consider their current staffing levels to be too low. The labour market situation in the hospitality industry has improved particularly strongly.

The KOF Employment Indicator continues to rise in the third quarter of 2021 and is above the long-term average for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. The upswing is broadly supported: almost all sectors are recording positive employment indicators. Even in the hospitality industry, employment expectations for the next three months are now in positive territory.

The KOF Employment Indicator is climbing sharply and is now only slightly below its long-term average. This rise is being driven by more positive employment prospects: for the first time since the beginning of the COVID crisis there are more firms that plan to increase their headcount over the next three months than those that expect to cut staff.

The KOF Employment Indicator has fallen to minus 8.2 points, which has ended its recovery trend of the last two quarters. The outlook has deteriorated in the hospitality industry in particular: the employment indicator for this sector is even more negative than it was during the first lockdown and has hit an all-time low.

The KOF Employment Indicator is continuing to recover following its historic slump in the second quarter of 2020. However, the Indicator remains firmly in negative territory at minus 7.1 points. Businesses in the hospitality, wholesale and industrial sectors are especially pessimistic.

In the third quarter of 2020 the KOF Employment Indicator is recovering slightly from its historic slump in the second quarter. Despite the lifting of the lockdown, however, the indicator remains clearly in negative territory at -12.9 points. In industry and the hospitality sector the outlook is almost as bad as it was three months ago. Further job cuts are expected in the coming months.

Short-term prospects on the Swiss labour market have deteriorated sharply as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The KOF Employment Indicator has fallen to -19.9 points and is currently lower than at the height of the financial and economic crisis in 2008/2009. With the exception of the insurance industry, all sectors are affected by this decline.

The outlook for the Swiss labour market has improved: the KOF Employment Indicator has risen from 2.1 to 3.9 points. Various sectors have softened their negative employment forecasts since the last quarter of 2019. In addition, growth in job creation is expected in some service sectors.

The short-term prospects for the Swiss labour market have deteriorated, with the KOF Employment Indicator falling from 4.6 points to 2.3 points. This decline is being driven by industry, whose employment expectations are almost as low as in the aftermath of the Swiss franc shock of 2015. By contrast, most construction firms and banks are planning to increase their staffing levels.

Most firms in domestically driven sectors plan to boost their headcount over the next few months. Industry, on the other hand, is increasingly expecting to reduce its staffing levels. On the whole, however, the short-term outlook remains fairly upbeat, with the KOF Employment Indicator hovering around 5 points.

All in all, HR planning at Swiss companies has changed very little in the last few months. However, according to the latest KOF Employment Indicator, the companies’ planning followed highly diverging trends: While the construction industry, insurance companies and the other service providers are planning to increase staff numbers, the outlook deteriorated for banks and the hotel and catering sector.

The KOF Employment Indicator has fallen slightly for the second consecutive time. One key reason for this development is that employment expectations in various service sectors are no longer quite as upbeat as they were six months ago. By contrast, employment prospects in construction and in the accommodation and food service sector continue to improve

The KOF Employment Indicator has steadied at a fairly high level. Having reached 5.8 points in the third quarter, it currently stands at 5.1 points. The Indicator shows that the Swiss companies surveyed by KOF in October are, on the whole, planning to create further jobs.

Positive news from the Swiss labour market are piling up: According to the current KOF Employment Indicator, rising numbers of companies are planning to create more jobs in the next three months. For the first time in ten years, even the situation in the hotel and catering sector is reasonably favourable.

Companies in Switzerland are performing well, and this situation is feeding through into their plans to hire more workers. The KOF Employment Indicator remains in positive territory, with only the retail and hospitality sectors lagging behind.

The Swiss labour market is getting off to a strong start in 2018, according to the KOF Employment Indicator, which continues to be in the positive range. The last time employment prospects in the construction industry were this promising was five years ago.