I read a great article on NZZ a couple of days ago. I will summarize the key findings in this post for you. I also take opportunity to express my opinion on some of the statements made.
Positive economic news is rare in recent months. Exception: The Swiss labor market. In 2022, the average rate of unemployment in Switzerland was 2.2 %, the lowest rate in the last 20 years: In 2001, this rate was even lower at 1.7 %.
Annual averages of the Swiss unemployment rate, in percent
Source: Fuster (2023)
Boris Zürcher, Head of the Labor Directorate at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), speaks of an “employee market”. This means that employees are currently in a privileged negotiating position compared to employers and can often push through their demands with companies. For months, there have been more vacancies than job seekers. The often cited "shortage of skilled workers" has developed into a general labor shortage.
How can this development toward lower unemployment rates be explained? Boris Zürcher believes that numerousnew jobs have been created particularly in the service sector, for example in education, healthcare and social services. In my opinion, the demographic trend is also making itself felt here: The baby boomers with the highest birth rates are gradually retiring. And due to the low-birth-rate cohorts of Generation Z, this gap will continue to grow in the coming years.
However, unemployment is a lagging economic indicator that shows up relatively late on the job market. According to the article, it is possible that the recently less optimistic economic outlook will also affect employees with a time lag. However, I believe that the balance of power will tend to shift further in favor of employees, precisely because of demographic developments.
What does this current situation mean for you? Nothing less than that your chances of finding a new job have rarely been better than now! If you do not change now, when will you?
Finally, a last train of thought: The demographic trend has been apparent for some time. Accordingly, we could assume that companies are taking new approaches in recruitment. This is exactly the point I will be highlighting in the next blog post next month. I look forward to you reading along then, too.
Source (exclusively in German):
Fuster, T. (2023, 9. Januar). Tiefe Arbeitslosigkeit: Die Arbeitnehmer sitzen am längeren Hebel – ein Grund dafür ist, dass es immer mehr staatsnahe Stellen gibt. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/in-der-schweiz-sitzen-arbeitnehmende-am-laengeren-hebel-ein-grund-dafuer-ist-die-starke-zunahme-von-staatsnahen-stellen-ld.1720399