- The Swiss economy has recovered from the corona crisis, but is struggling with a shortage of skilled workers in various sectors.
- According to a report commissioned by Seco, recruitment opportunities have been exhausted, especially in the IT sector.
- This despite high wages and free movement of people with the EU.
According to the report by the “Observatory on the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and the EU”, published by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), unemployment for both the Swiss and foreign workforce has returned to the pre-crisis level for the first time and has even fallen below it.
Skills shortage in IT is coming to a head
According to the report, the problem of the shortage of skilled workers has become more acute in various sectors of the economy. The observatory dedicated an in-depth analysis to the IT industry. Due to ongoing digitization, the number of people employed in this area has increased by 60 percent since 2010.
The demand is still high, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to find suitable IT staff. According to the observatory, the domestic workforce potential in this area is practically exhausted. Accordingly, the labor force participation in 2021 was 92.2 percent and the unemployment rate was a low 1.6 percent.
Not manageable without immigration
Almost every second position in the IT sector has therefore been filled with foreign specialists, it is said. Without immigration, the growth would have been almost impossible to manage. There are even indications that, despite very high wages, the recruitment opportunities within the framework of the free movement of people have now been exhausted. In recent years, companies have therefore increasingly relied on workers from third countries.
And the problem could even get worse: as digitization continues, the need for skilled workers will remain high. At the same time, the need for such specialists is also increasing abroad, and the competitive situation could intensify.
Foreigners more affected by Corona
In addition, IT specialists are considered to be comparatively mobile, and many have not settled in Switzerland permanently. As difficult as it may be for companies when they are struggling to recruit skilled workers. The shortage of skilled workers is also an indication that the Swiss economy is doing relatively well. In fact, the observatory concluded that the labor market has recovered well from the corona crisis.
At the beginning, the unemployment rate of foreigners rose much more than that of the Swiss. In addition, foreigners have also withdrawn more frequently from the labor market in the meantime. The observatory explained the difference with the different impacts on the sectors.
In particular, an above-average number of foreigners are employed in the hospitality industry, which has been badly affected by the crisis. In return, the Swiss are employed in education and teaching, in public administration and in health and social services – i.e. in sectors that were robust to the Covid 19 crisis.