More border crossings than ever before

By the end of 2022, the number of cross-border commuters had grown by 6.1 percent compared to the previous year. Their share in the labor force increased by 0.4 percentage point to 7.3 percent.

At the end of last year, a total of 380,000 workers traveled to Switzerland from abroad, the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FSO) reported in its figures published on Tuesday – more than ever before. Between 2017 and the end of 2022, the number of cross-border commuters increased by 18.6 percent or 59,700 people.

Most border commuters come from France

The strongest stand for was the age group between 35 and 44 years with 29 percent. Geographically, however, one focus can be identified: in the fourth quarter of 2022, 56.3 percent of cross-border commuters came from France. 23.5 percent lived in Italy, followed by Germany (17.1 percent). 2.3 percent came from Austria and 0.2 percent from the Principality of Liechtenstein.

Frontier cantons with appeal

Three cantons remain particularly popular with border commuters: Geneva registered the largest increase compared to the end of 2021 with 7,300 more people and an increase of 7.6 percent. This is followed by Vaud (3,900; +10.6 percent) and Ticino (3,300; +4.4 percent).

Almost 60 percent of cross-border commuters were concentrated in these three cantons: 27.4 percent worked in Geneva, 20.4 percent in Ticino and 10.8 percent in the canton of Vaud.

No burglary during Corona

Incidentally, there was no corona effect: in the first wave of the Covid 19 pandemic, the number of cross-border commuters remained relatively stable. At the end of 2019, there were 339,000. A year later it stood at 341,300, an increase of 0.7 percent. At the end of 2021, 359,000 people traveled to work in Switzerland, an increase of 5.2 percent within a year.

Meanwhile, the number of people in work fell by 0.3 percent between 2019 and 2020. It recovered by 1.1 percent at the end of 2021. 2022 resulted in an increase of 0.8 percent.

trade, construction and maintenance

About 2,500 people from neighboring countries work in Swiss agriculture. In the secondary sector, a total of 116,000 people cross the border every day. 84,000 of them work in industry and in the manufacture of goods. In Switzerland, about 29,000 cross-border commuters work in construction.

More than 250,000 people living abroad work in the tertiary sector. Most of them, nearly 50,000 people, work in trade (wholesale and retail) and in the maintenance and repair of motor vehicles. About 40,000 people living in neighboring countries provide freelance, scientific and technical services in Switzerland. Another 42,000 provide other services in our country. A large proportion of cross-border commuters also work in health and social services. At the end of 2022, almost 38,000 people from neighboring countries worked in our nursing homes and hospitals. (sq/SDA)

Source:Blick