The Swiss temporary staffing market grew by 5.5% in the three months to May 2017, compared to the same time last year, according to the latest figures from Swiss Staffing, the Swiss Federation for Staffing Companies.

The data from Swiss Staffing also shows that since the beginning of 2017, the temporary staffing market has grown by 4.2% on the year.

“The growth of the temporary work branch reflects the favourable development of the Swiss labour market and the overall economic situation,” Marius Osterfeld, Economist at Swiss Staffing said. “The decline of economic activity as seen by economic indicators and the reduction in SECO's (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs) growth forecast are not yet reflected in the growth momentum of the temporary work sector. Given that the temporary work sector is also an early indicator of the economic situation, the current dynamism of the industry indicates that growth in the market continues to increase.”

According to data from SECO, the Swiss unemployment rate in April 2017 stood at 3.3%.