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Zurich, Wednesday, 25 April 2018. According to the Michael Page Swiss Job Index, Canton Zurich led the growth in advertised jobs between March and April 2018 (+5.3%). This is the highest increase in two years for Zurich.
Across Switzerland monthly growth was +1.2% with year-on-year growth at +23.3% (April 2017 – April 2018), ahead of the average growth over the last 3 years of +19.8%, for the same period. Advertised jobs in the entire German-speaking region, which accounts for 9 out of 10 advertised jobs, grew by +1.6%. Advertised jobs in the Swiss Romande decreased by -0.6%.
Demand was especially strong for financial controllers (+13.2%) ahead of the first quarter corporate reporting season. Logistics specialists, with planning and cost management skills, were also in high demand (+11.1%). And the strong demand for database specialists (+10.5%) was principally driven by the forthcoming introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018.
Winning Job Categories | Monthly Growth | Year-on-Year Growth |
| +13.2% | -0.1% |
| +11.1% | +11.1% |
| +10.5% | +40.0% |
| +10.3% | +12.0% |
| +9.5% | +2.7% |
These types of organizational headquarter jobs are primarily located in Zurich and to a lesser extent Geneva and Bern.
Regions | Monthly Growth (March 2018 – April 2018) | Year-on-Year Growth |
Zurich (ZH) | +5.3% | +16.7% |
Mid (BE, FR, JU, NE, SO) | +4.2% | +57.5% |
North (AG, BL, BS) | +0.8% | +28.8% |
East (AI, AR, GL, GR, SG, SH, TG) | -1.5% | +11.2% |
Central (LU, NW, OW, SZ, UR, ZG) | -1.5% | +8.4% |
Lake Geneva (GE, VD, VS) | -1.7% | +19.3% |
“The end of Q1, along with one-off policy measures such as GDPR, always sharply raise the demand for control, planning and related IT specialists”, said Nicolai Mikkelsen, Executive Director, Michael Page, “This tends to obscure the strong and positive ongoing investment that companies are making in sales and business development roles. These jobs grow by around 3.0% every month”.
Michael Page
Michael Page is a leading brand of the PageGroup, one of the world's pre-eminent professional recruitment consultancies. Listed on the London Stock Exchange (“PAGE”), PageGroup was established in Switzerland in 2001. The Michael Page team works closely with its clients to identify and place the best candidates for management positions. It also collaborates with PageGroup’s other operational brands to ensure that all client needs are met. This includes Page Personnel (graduates and first level specialists), and Page Executive (senior and executive management). Page Group has more than 152 offices worldwide including three Swiss offices in Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne.
Michael Page Swiss Job Index
The Michael Page Swiss Job Index measures the number of advertised vacancies on company sites throughout Switzerland. Introduced in January 2012, the Swiss Job Index provides a unique, comprehensive overview of the Swiss labour market and the most important monthly trends.
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