Executive Summary
The Swiss Skills Shortage Index compiled by Spring Professional and the Swiss Job Market Monitor of the University of Zurich shows which occupations have the largest skills shortage and which have the largest oversupply of labour. It analyses which occupational groups have a particularly large or particularly small number of vacancies in comparison with the number of respective job seekers, both in the various regions within Switzerland and in the country as a whole. By comparing this year’s findings with those of the previous year, it is possible to observe whether the skills shortage has changed over time in the individual occupational groups. In other words, it identifies whether the skills shortage has changed over time within the occupational groups.
+17%
The situation has further intensified
According to the Swiss Skills Shortage Index, the need for skilled labour in 2020 was down 17% on the previous year. Switzerland saw fewer job advertisements in total than in 2019 as a result of the coronavirus crisis, and conversely more people competing for jobs. However, a persistent and significant skills shortage made staff recruitment difficult in various areas. Like last year, the top positions in this year’s skills shortage rankings are occupied by engineering (e.g. civil engineers), technical professions (e.g. air conditioning technicians) and trust business (e.g. trustees).
Differences between occupational groups
As well as professions with a shortage of skills, there are also professions that have a skills surplus. In these professions, there are significantly more people seeking jobs than there are vacancies available. Commercial and administrative professions (e.g. office occupations) and cleaning, hygiene and personal care professions (e.g. cleaners) have the largest surplus of skills. In most professions with a skills surplus, the coronavirus crisis has made the situation for job seekers even more difficult than in the previous year.
There are major, clearly identifiable differences between regions. German-speaking Switzerland is significantly more affected by the skills shortage than French-speaking Switzerland, which instead has a surplus of job seekers in many professions. However, the coronavirus crisis had less of an effect on the Skills Shortage Index in French-speaking Switzerland, so the regions balance each other out to a certain extent. The professions affected by a skills shortage or a skills surplus are predominantly the same in both German-speaking Switzerland and western Switzerland.