Media Releases

Labor shortage impacts staffing service providers

Despite dire warnings that the Swiss economy could weaken, the labor market is robust, which is paradoxically shown by red figures in the staffing service sector. Staffing service providers concluded the second quarter of 2023 with a 5.6 percent decrease in temporary staffing compared to the previous year. The revenue ...

The labor market: Temporary work helps integrate the unemployed into the labor market and provides social security for flexible workers

A new study shows that temporary work is simultaneously both a safety net and a lifeline for many workers. It provides both highly skilled and low-skilled workers an opportunity to determine their own careers. For many jobseekers, temporary work is a pathway to a permanent job. Approximately one third use temporary ...

Economy and labor shortage having negative impact on temporary staffing via staffing service providers

Despite a bleak economic outlook, the acute labor shortage is causing concern for many companies and giving job seekers greater bargaining power. According to the Swiss Staffingindex, the temporary staffing sector via staffing service providers is in minus figures (-3.4 percent) for the first time in two years. The ...

2022 in review: comfortable increase, significant slowdown, unexpected final spurt

Labor shortage, omicron, supply bottlenecks and inflation – the annual figures from staffing service providers illustrate the roller coaster ride that was 2022. Staffing service providers concluded 2022 with an increase of 7.2 percent year-on-year in the temporary sector. The number of permanent position placements ...

Waiting for a Downturn in the Staffing Services Sector

Staff shortages and economic concerns bear unusual fruit in the employment market: Businesses and workers alike are speaking plainly with staffing service providers. Despite the ominous clouds on the economic horizon, the latest Swiss Staffingindex shows that staffing service providers are performing surprisingly ...

Weakening Economic Climate Impacts Staffing Service Providers

Labor shortages and gloomy export prospects are leading to fears of stagflation – initial signs of a slowdown apparent in the growth region of Basel. If you look at the latest quarterly figures for staffing service providers in Switzerland, everything could appear rosy: according to the Swiss Staffingindex, the ...

Temporary work comprehensively protects people in flexible working models against social risks

Study shows that 26% of workers were in flexible working models in 2020 – well-educated women are overrepresented in the service sector. Many imagine young men working for an hourly wage on a construction site when they hear about flexible work or temporary work in Switzerland. A new study by swissstaffing, the ...

Staffing service providers on growth trajectory in the first quarter of 2022

Staff shortages due to Covid cases and the Ukraine war have been successfully overcome by appointing temporary workers or new permanent staff. Staffing service providers saw a clear upswing into 2022: According to the Swiss Staffingindex, the staff leasing sector was up 21.9 percent over the previous year based on ...

Staff leasing sector recovers from impact of coronavirus in 2021

According to the Swiss Staffingindex industry barometer, the staff leasing sector ended 2021 up 11.6 percent. The need for staff in vaccination centers, testing centers and hospitals has seen the sector revert to a path of growth, as has the business situation in industry and construction, where temporary positions ...

Flexwork: more and more highly qualified workers are in temporary work

Contrary to widespread opinion, temporary work is also an attractive way of working for highly qualified workers. Globalization, advancing digitalization and – in more recent times – the coronavirus pandemic have accelerated demand for flexible working relationships, even for highly qualified specialists. Flexwork ...

Continued growth for the staff leasing sector points to strong recovery in the coming winter months

The staff leasing sector continues to grow. According to the Swiss Staffingindex, workers in the staff leasing sector recorded 12.9 percent more working hours during the third quarter of 2021 in a year-on-year comparison. The good business situation seen in the staff leasing sector suggests that there will be further ...

Strong Recovery in the Staff Leasing Sector: Working Hours up Almost 25% This Quarter Year-on-Year

The staff leasing sector saw a rapid recovery in the second quarter of 2021. According to the Swiss Staffingindex, workers in the staff leasing sector recorded a notable 24.5 percent more working hours this quarter in a year-on-year comparison. This has allowed the sector to recover a large part of the ...

More Than Equivalent: New Analysis of Wages and Overtime in Temporary Work

Temporary workers earn the same as their directly employed colleagues – and even significantly more than direct employees on a limited contract – and work less overtime, but are more likely to be financially compensated for it. These are the results of swissstaffing's first ever analysis of the figures from the ...

Second lockdown causes strain, but optimism for the summer

In the first quarter of 2021, temporary workers rendered 12.8% fewer working hours than in the same quarter in the previous year. As a result, the second lockdown knocked the staff leasing sector back into double-digit minus figures. This decline affected both the service and industrial sectors due to falling demand. ...

Coronavirus Summary 2020: Staff Leasing Sector Slumps 14.3%

The staff leasing sector slumped 14.3% in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. After recording a drop of 22.8% during the first lockdown, the sector's deficit steadily reduced throughout the year to 9.6% in the fourth quarter, an impressive feat shown by the Swiss Staffingindex. The slight upward trend seen ...

A Second Wave of Coronavirus Threatens the Swiss Labor Market

The staff leasing sector serves as a gauge for the Swiss economy as a whole. In the third quarter of 2020, the Swiss Staffingindex was down 16.7% on the previous year. This meant that the benchmark index for the sector only rose very slightly compared with the second quarter. Despite some easing of restrictions, the ...

Coronavirus slump of 22.8 percent, 20,000 short-time workers threatened with unemployment

The coronavirus crisis has rocked the staff leasing sector. The number of working hours rendered during the second quarter of the year was around 23 percent lower than the previous year, without taking short-time working hours into account. This is illustrated by the industry barometer that is the Swiss Staffing Index ...

Flexworkers are the subject of a new study

Digitalization, automation and globalization are changing the way we work. In this dynamic labor market, flexible forms of working are constantly on the rise, and workers are discovering they have new needs that had previously not been given much thought. A joint research study by HR ConScience, the University of ...

The Crunch of the Corona-minus: 12% Slump in March

As a result of the coronavirus crisis, the Swiss Staffingindex shows 12% fewer working hours rendered by temporary workers than during the same month in the previous year – without taking short-time working hours into account. A survey conducted by gfs-zürich shows that on average, nearly half of temporary workers ...

Staff Leasing Sector Shrinks by 4.5%

In 2019, temporary workers rendered 4.5% fewer working hours than in the record year that was 2018. This is due to demand in the labor market drying up and the lack of growth momentum in Switzerland's economy. As a result, staff leasing companies are finding it harder to recruit workers and also harder to place these ...