The Swiss temporary staffing market grew by 5.5% in the third quarter of 2018, compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures from Swiss Staffing, the Swiss Federation for Staffing Companies.

The Swiss Staffing index is the business barometer for temporary work companies in Switzerland. Since the state of activity of the temporary labour industry is a leading indicator of economic developments, the Swiss Staffing index is also a barometer for the Swiss economy.

According to Marius Osterfeld, Economist at Swiss Staffing, the growth of the temporary sector in Switzerland is fuelled by all professional branches. The smooth running of business, however, is threatened by a series of political risks.

Brexit, the possible outbreak of the debt crisis in Europe and the trade war looming between nations could have a profound impact on the sector in the coming year, Osterfeld said. Other domestic issues could also have an impact such as a failure to reach a new institutional framework agreement with the EU or the acceptance of the initiative for self-determination. These issues could permanently damage economic relations with the EU.

Osterfeld also stated that the hiring of skilled labour is becoming increasingly difficult.

In October 2018, Swiss Staffing and the social partners Unia, Syna, Employees Switzerland and the Swiss Society of Commercial Employees agreed to renew a collective agreement for service hire. 

“Thanks to this agreement, we can be sure that in future it will always be possible to reconcile flexibility and social security in Switzerland without resorting to complicated legal regulations,” Osterfeld said. “The current evolution in the temporary sector is a good illustration of this: flexibility meets a need for both employees and companies. The emergence of new online platforms such as Uber should accelerate demand for solutions that combine flexibility and social protection.”