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 Barometer continues to fall
In April 2025, labour market experts at the RAVs expected a continued rise in (seasonally adjusted) unemployment and a slight fall in (seasonally adjusted) employment in the next three months. Both components of the indicator fell month-on-month. The overall Swiss Labour Market Barometer now stands at just 95.3 points – its lowest ever level.
The labour market outlook deteriorated in April, with the unemployment indicator falling to 94.4 percentage points (–2.3), and the employment indicator now at 96.1 points (–1.6).
The decline reflects the continued weak global economy. Besides generally sluggish economic growth, the new US tariffs are adversely affecting export-oriented sectors in particular. In addition, economic uncertainty has surged in many businesses. According to the RAV experts, the labour market trend does not look likely to change anytime soon.
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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