Companies in Switzerland are advertising 27% fewer jobs in the second quarter of 2020 than shortly before the coronavirus crisis, according to the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index conducted by the Swiss Job Market Monitor from the University of Zurich.
The Federal Council announced on 16 March that Switzerland was in an ‘extraordinary situation’ due to the coronavirus. Job advertisements for the Job Index of the first quarter of 2020 were collected shortly before 16 March 2020. This means that the quarterly comparison compares the situation prior to and during the coronavirus.
“Compared to the previous quarter, the slump is abrupt and, for the time being, more severe in scope than past crises such as the banking crisis, where the effect was less sudden,” Anna von Ow, researcher for Swiss Job Market Monitor, said. “This is because virtually all parts of public, social, economic and cultural life had to be shut down practically overnight in this current crisis. This was to prevent an uncontrollable spread of Covid-19.”
All occupational groups saw a slump in job offers, but to varying degrees. Job advertisements for occupations in technology and sciences (-17%) and construction and expansion (-18%) fell the least, while those for professions in hospitality and personal services (-39%) declined the most. Occupations in healthcare, education and public services have each fallen 22%.
“Job advertisements have collapsed across all professions,” von Ow said. “This also affects occupations that seem to be particularly well-suited for working from home or occupations that do not require direct contact with other people (in ICT or, to some extent, in technical and scientific fields for example).”
“We assume that the current situation will accelerate transformation processes so that production and work processes will be further automated and digitalized. We have been observing this development for several years now. Job Index figures support this development and the latest developments within the context of the coronavirus have even accelerated this transformation process,” Monica Dell’Anna, CEO of the Adecco Group Switzerland said.
All the major regions were impacted by the decline in job advertisements. With a fall of 29% each, companies in the Lake Geneva Region and Espace Mittelland are cutting back their job offerings the most when compared to the previous quarter. Job advertisements in Northwestern Switzerland are down 28%. The decline in job advertisements is somewhat less pronounced in the Greater Zurich Area (-25%), Central Switzerland (-25%) and Eastern Switzerland (-24%), each.