Rise in turnover and fall in employment in Swiss market sector activities in Q1 2025
Neuchâtel, 11.06.2025 — Switzerland saw a mixed performance across market sector activities in the 1st quarter 2025. While turnover rose by 2.1% compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment in these same sectors fell by 0.1% (total employment +0.6%). These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Secondary sector
Different trends were observed across the secondary sector in the 1st quarter 2025. In the industrial section there was an increase in turnover of 2.5% and a fall in employment of 0.4%, while in construction there was an increase in both turnover (+5.0%) and employment (+1.5%).
Tertiary sector
Trends varied among different tertiary sector market activities in the first quarter of 2025. While service section activity turnover increased by 1.7% over the same quarter of the previous year, employment figures fell slightly, by 0.2%. In the tertiary sector as a whole, however, there was a 0.7% increase in employment. In the retail division, turnover increased by 1.7% in the same period, while employment fell by 1.8%.
Focus: robust growth in Swiss construction
The Swiss construction has exhibited robust growth over the past decade. At 6.6%, employment growth in the construction section far outstripped that of the industrial section, where employment grew by 2.5% in the same period. In terms of turnover, the construction section recorded a growth in turnover of 11.3% between 2015 and 2024, while the industrial section saw an even more substantial increase of 40.2%. In 2024, the most recent year of comparison, similar developments were observed in both sections. The construction section grew by 3.5% and industry by 4.0%. Construction accounts for a large share of employment in the tertiary sector – some 34% – but the industrial section accounts for the bigger share, at 66%. Construction makes up 20% of turnover in this sector, industry 80%. These figures illustrate the continued strength of the Swiss construction and highlight its role as a vital and rapidly growing section of economic activity.
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