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The employment indicator calculated by ETH economic research center KOF fell for the fourth consecutive quarter in the first quarter but remains clearly in positive territory, KOF announced on Monday. For the first quarter of 2024, this rate still stands at 7.5 points, after a slightly upward revised 8.0 points in the previous quarter.
This means it is still well above the long-term average of 1.5 points, as highlighted by KOF economists. Since mid-2022, when the indicator value reached a historical peak (16.5 points), the value has now decreased slightly.
The employment indicator is calculated from KOF’s quarterly economic surveys. According to the statement, the evaluations for the first quarter are based on the responses regarding employment plans and expectations of approximately 4,500 companies that participated in the survey in January.
All in all, the majority of participating companies still rate the current headcount as too low. In addition, according to KOF, the rate of companies that want to increase the number of employees in the next three months is higher than the rate of those planning to reduce employment.
Since the KOF employment indicator has been ahead of the general economic development of employment and employment in the past, the indicator points to the continued positive development of employment in Switzerland in the current and future quarters.
But there are a few sectors with worse prospects: In the manufacturing sector, the majority of companies estimate the current headcount is too high. These companies plan to cut jobs in the next few months. In general, the KOF employment indicator in the manufacturing sector has been in the negative zone for a year.
The KOF employment indicator also fell compared to the previous quarter in the retail, hospitality and insurance sectors. However, the indicator value in these three sectors is still positive; therefore, the number of companies that are more likely to expect employment growth in these sectors is greater than the number of companies.
According to the communiqué, the KOF employment indicator remained fairly stable in other sectors and even increased slightly. (SDA)
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.
