Shortage of workers cited as top obstacle to Swiss economy

© Keystone / Christian Beutler

The president of the Swiss Employers' Association wants to increase the potential workforce in Switzerland by 300,000 people. 

To achieve this, women, young people, the elderly and refugees must be integrated into the labour market or be given more work, said Valentin Vogt on Swiss public radio SRF on Saturday.

“The lack of labour is the biggest obstacle to the growth of the Swiss economy,” he warned. According to him, if this problem is not solved, Switzerland’s prosperity will suffer.

Vogt lamented the fact that more people now want to work part-time. 

“We have to find a balance between the well-being of society and that of each individual,” he said. “But if we only look at the individual, we will not be where we are now”.

The Swiss Employers’ Association intends to push for political measures such as individual taxation and the development of childcare facilities to provide an incentive to work more. 

“The aim is that this time should be used for work and not for more leisure time,” warned Vogt. 

Vogt also sees immigration as an opportunity to overcome the labour shortage. However, he does not advocate to “simply open the floodgates”. One possibility he suggested would be to regulate the distribution of immigration quotas better.