Students take to the streets to protest planned tuition hikes; regions where most and least job openings are advertised; and more Swiss news in our roundup on Thursday.
Students rally against higher tuition fees
As part of the Federal Council’s 2027 relief package, the government is planning to reduce its subsidies to public universities, while doubling fees for Swiss students and quadrupling them for foreign ones.
To protest this austerity measure, hundreds of students took to the streets on Wednesday in several Swiss cities, including 700 people who had gathered in Zurich’s Helvetiaplatz.
Those congregated at the Federal Square in Bern, presented a petition with 34,538 signatures to the Federal Chancellery.
According to the petition, created by the Association of Swiss Student Bodies, “those who cut back on education today risk a shortage of skilled workers, less social mobility and a weakening of Switzerland’s position as a location for innovation.”
Under pressure, Swiss job market still has openings in some regions and sectors
The Swiss labour market – and particularly export-oriented industries like pharmaceuticals and watch manufacturing – is under pressure due to the hefty US tariffs, and some companies may not hire more employees.
Nevertheless, there are still many job openings in some sectors.
In its latest job report, the labour market research institute x28 shows where vacancies are currently being advertised and companies are actively recruiting new personnel.
The highest number of job opportunities is in the canton of Zug, with 44.95 advertised positions per 1,000 residents.
Cantons of Obwalden (33.66), Lucerne (32.07), and Zurich (29.64) are next.
In contrast, there are few vacancies in Ticino, with 4.64 advertised positions per 1,000 residents, as well as in Vaud (9.76), and Geneva (9.27).
Broken down by jobs, most open positions are for nursing professionals and electrical fitters.
Over 5,000 positions are currently advertised online in both areas.
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Densification seen as a way to solve Switzerland’s housing shortage
A new study by Sotomo research institute shows where Switzerland can still build new housing to relieve not only the current, but also future housing shortages.
“Increasing density doesn’t mean we should become like Manhattan or Frankfurt,” said Sotomo’s Michael Hermann. “There are already regions in Switzerland that are densely populated and yet aren’t concrete jungles.”
With good inner-city development, it is entirely possible to create housing for an additional 2 million people, the study showed.
Growth should be concentrated primarily in the urban areas and smaller cities where public transport is already developed.
“We only need to change 30 percent of the current settlement area,” Herrmann said, pointing out that the remaining 70 percent could remain untouched.
Among them are Zurich communities of Schwerzenbach and Opfikon, Killwangen in Aargau, and the Geneva agglomeration including Vernier, Pregny-Chambésy, and Meyrin.
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