Although the unemployment rate in Switzerland is low – 2.8 percent in September 2025 – there are fewer jobs around for some qualified professionals.
Switzerland’s labour market has been suffering from shortages in certain sectors for quite a while.
And yet, according to an analysis carried out by Adecco Group Switzerland and the Swiss Job Market Monitor of the University of Zurich, there are currently 3 percent fewer vacancies than at the same time in 2024.
This downward trend also affects those with higher education degrees: data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) shows that the unemployment rate among university graduates went up from from 2.7 to 3.2 percent between 2021 and 2023.
Gerd Winandi-Martin, head of the career centre at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) has been observing this development for some time.
“We’re seeing a growing demand for individual counselling and career workshops,” he told Blick newspaper. “Compared to previous years, the number of job offers on the HSG’s career platform is down.
He also added that “entering the job market is currently more difficult. While blue-collar workers, i.e., those in trades and industry, are still looking for specialists, the demand for white-collar jobs has declined significantly.”
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This trend is confirmed by the figures from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which show that around 4 percent more university graduates under the age of 30 were registered for unemployment benefits this August than in 2024.
The Swiss Universities Career Services Network, which compiles monthly job postings on the platforms of 15 Swiss higher-education institutions, also indicates that from April to June of this year, the number of job offers for graduates was 17 percent lower than in 2024, and even 31 percent lower than for the same period in 2023.
The biggest drop in demand, according to the study, was for graduate IT professionals – down by 31 percent – and business administration specialists (24 percent).
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Blame it on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) – but not only
According to Blick, “so far, no company has openly confirmed that it has hired fewer staff because of AI. But it is clear that many companies are increasingly relying on it. The Swiss Job Market Index already attributes this trend and the growing use of artificial intelligence to the decline in IT jobs.”
There is another reason as well.
‘The Swiss economic situation remains strained due to protectionist US trade policy, global uncertainty and weak investment activity,” the study pointed out.
“The declining JobMarket Index and the KOF Employment Indicator both note stagnation on the Swiss job market, also reflected in increasing unemployment and reticent employment development.”
According to labour market expert Edgar Spieler, companies are more reluctant to hire new employees in times of economic uncertainty – a stance that also affects university graduates.
“Before laying off staff, many companies first impose a hiring freeze,” he said.
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What about the future?
“In the long term, companies need young talent, if only because of the shortage of skilled labor and demographic changes,” Spieler pointed out.
And the study indicates than demand for university graduates still exists – and is quite strong – in certain sectors, such as health professions, for instance.
