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Workers in Switzerland can expect average wage growth of 1.9 percent in 2024, the current UBS wage survey shows. The big bank surveyed 389 companies from 22 industries, representing nearly 90 percent of the working population.
“We see only small differences in wage growth across sectors,” says UBS economist Florian Germanier. Wages increased the most in the public sector, with 2.2 percent. In many sectors, companies say they will increase wages by an average of 2 percent. These include the watch and jewelery industry, IT and telecommunications services, banks and insurance companies, as well as chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Employees in the pharmaceutical industry especially benefit from the above-average wage increase of 2.5 percent.
Catering employees are at the top
According to Germanier, tourism workers can look forward to this. “If you just look at the hotel and catering industry, you see strong wage growth of 2.8 percent,” says Germanier.
The lowest performers in the survey were the media sector (1 percent) with 1 percent and food production and wholesale trade with 1.5 percent.
But many workers in the country should expect their purchasing power to decline next year. UBS expects inflation to reach 2 percent, meaning real wages will fall by 0.1 percent. Real wages increased by just 0.1 percent in 2022, even though they fell by 1.9 percent in the previous year. Real wage growth in 2021 was also almost zero.
The main reason is the weak economy
Accordingly, inflation has become even more important for employees. According to the research, companies face inflation compensation claims much more frequently. 72 percent of companies say their employees are seeking compensation. Last year, this rate was 65 percent.
“But wage negotiations never take place in a vacuum, they always take place in the overall economic context,” emphasizes UBS chief economist Daniel Kalt. And here UBS predicts below-average economic growth in Switzerland of 1.2 percent next year. The surveyed companies also reflect this: 41 percent of companies say that the company’s financial situation is a determining factor in wage negotiations.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
