Number of staff at banks in Switzerland
At the end of 2022, the banks in Switzerland employed 92,019 people (full-time equivalents), 1,429 more than in 2021. The unemployment rate in the financial sector was slightly lower than that of the overall economy, at 2.0%, having declined com-pared with 2021.
TRENDS IN 2023
Headcount at Swiss banks robust prior to events at Credit Suisse
Trends in 2022
The number of people employed in the banking sector rose for the third successive year (up 1.6%). The unemployment rate in the financial sector was slightly lower than that of the overall economy at 2.0%.
The banks employed 92,019 full-time equivalents in Switzerland in 2022, up 1,429 or 1.6% year-on-year. The number of staff in the banking sector thus increased for the third year in succession, surpassing the level seen in 2017, although that figure had been preceded by a gradual decline. According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Swiss financial sector’s average unemployment rate in December 2022 was 2.0%,47 slightly lower than the figure of 2.1% for the overall economy. In total, 2,382 banking sector workers were registered unemployed at the end of the year, down 699 year-on-year. The big banks cut 25 jobs in 2022, while banks in the remaining categories added a total of 1,453. This confirms the positive forecast of last year’s SBA employment survey of Swiss banks. The increase in headcount was accompanied by a CHF 355.8 mn year-on-year rise in personnel expenses. Looking at the gender split, the proportion of female bank staff remained stable at 38.3% (35,263 full-time equivalents). As in prior years, the highest proportions of female staff were recorded at the Raiffeisen banks with 44.8% and the regional and savings banks with 44.5%.
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Figure 23
Headcount at Swiss banks robust prior to events at Credit Suisse
Headcount fell by almost 2% in the first half of the year, though this was entirely due to developments abroad. The number of staff in Switzerland actually rose slightly, by 0.3%. The outlook for the remainder of the year, though, is uncertain. The banks surveyed were upbeat for the second half of 2023, although the big banks were not included in the poll.
The annual SBA survey of headcount at banks in Switzerland showed a small rise of 297 full-time equiva-lents or 0.3% between the end of 2022 and June 2023. Foreign headcount, by contrast, declined sharply during the same period: 5,326 employees (FTEs) joined while 8,839 left, a net loss of 3.9%. Media reports indicate that the number of staff departing Credit Suisse outside Switzerland rose in the first half of the year. Swiss banks have always tended to recruit more staff for their foreign operations than for those in Switzerland over recent years, but now for the first time the number of staff abroad has slipped back markedly while the domestic figure has grown.
Figure 24
Remainder of the year fraught with uncertainty
In the SBA survey, 122 of the 198 banks polled expressed a view on the employment outlook for the remainder of 2023: as in previous years, over half expect headcount to stay roughly the same, while a little over a third reckon it will rise. This assessment is consistent with the expectations that the banks surveyed expressed a year ago regarding the remainder of 2022. Its underlying optimism also confirms a trend that has been observable for some years now: since 2013, the proportion of banks expecting their own headcount to fall has steadily declined – with the exception of 2019. This has continued in 2023. Only 5.7% of the banks surveyed now expect a reduction in their headcount in the remainder of the year. As regards employment in Switzerland, the results of this year’s survey are subject to greater uncertainty than those of previous years, and must be interpreted with caution. This is because the views of the big banks were deliberately excluded from the forecast in anticipation of the changes of direction expected following the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. It is impossible at this point to gauge how far the takeover will impact headcount in Switzerland, and to what extent any job losses at the big banks can be compensated for by other Swiss banks.
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Figure 26
Employment expected to increase in several areas of business
In addition to the general trend, the banks were also asked about the expected employment trend in individual areas of business. An analysis of the responses reveals a generally positive assessment in retail banking and wealth management as well as, to a rather more limited extent, logistics. Meanwhile, the vast majority of respondents (around 90%) expect employment to remain stable in institutional asset management and securities trading. Essentially, therefore, expectations regarding employment in the individual business areas are in line with the previous year.
Figure 27
Financial sector unemployment remains very low in first half of 2023
The unemployment rates for Switzerland as a whole (2.2%) and the financial sector (2.0%) at the end of 2022 were well below the high levels recorded in the pandemic-hit prior years. Over the course of 2023 so far, financial sector unemployment has remained unchanged, at 2.0% in June, while for Switzerland as a whole the labour market recovery has continued, with the jobless total dipping below 2% to stand at 1.9% at the end of June. Demand for skilled staff remains high. The BESTA employment statistics issued by the federal government recorded 6,600 vacancies across the financial sector as a whole in the first quarter of 2023.
47 SECO (2022). The situation on the job market in December 2022.