The number of job vacancies posted in February in Switzerland increased by 32.5% compared to the same period last year, according to the Michael Page Swiss Job Index. This is the largest increase in over a year since the publication of the index in 2012.

Between January and February 2017, published job vacancies increased by 7.0% in French-speaking Switzerland, 4.5% in the German-speaking region and 4.9% in Switzerland in general.

"We have a very good start to the year," Charles Franier, Executive Director at Michael Page, said. "The most important demand concerns export-oriented industries - pharmaceuticals and logistics in particular. Demand is also very strong also for all functions of control and administration. And there is also a high need for project management, especially in the financial, IT and construction sectors.”

Employment categories - with the highest monthly increase (January - February 2017)

The Lake Geneva region posted the highest growth rates in the number of vacancies advertised. According to Franier, "this trend is mainly due to the efforts made by companies to motivate their sales teams and thus maximize their annual ROI and their recruitment for major projects postponed in the second half of the year."