The Swiss Labour Market Barometer is a monthly leading indicator based on a survey of labour market experts from selected employment centres in 22 cantons.
Swiss labour market – stuck in limbo?
In March 2025, labour market experts anticipated a continued rise in unemployment (seasonally adjusted) in the next three months and a slight fall in employment (seasonally adjusted). However, the expected increase in unemployment is less sharp than in the previous month. The overall Swiss Labour Market Barometer stood at 98.4 – which is still the highest score recorded so far this year.
“The positive trend concerning the outlook for unemployment could be due in particular to the potential extension of the maximum eligibility period for short-time working compensation from 12 to 18 months. This is also backed up by the fact that employment is expected to show a continued downward trend”, says Dr Dorit Griga, Swiss Labour Market Barometer project manager at SECO-TC.
The short-term outlook for registered unemployment (seasonally adjusted) is slightly better in March than in the previous months. However, at 98.1 percentage points, the score recorded for unemployment is still not in neutral, let alone positive, territory. At 98.7 percentage points, the short-term outlook for employment is slightly worse than in the previous month.
Methodology
The Swiss Labour Market Barometer is a monthly leading indicator based on a survey of labour market experts from selected employment centres in 22 cantons. The survey has been conducted since May 2021 by SECO in collaboration with the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Germany and the European Labour Market Barometer.
While component A of the barometer signals the development of the seasonally adjusted unemployment figures for the next three months, component B forecasts employment trends. The average of the components ‘unemployment’ and ‘employment’ constitutes the total value of the barometer. This indicator thus provides an outlook on the overall development of the labour market. The scale ranges from 90 (very poor development) to 110 (very good development).
The European Labour Market Barometer has been conducted since June 2018 together with the public employment offices in participating countries and the IAB. Currently, 17 countries take part in the survey. These include: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Belgium-DG, Belgium-Wallonia, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
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