Cost-of-living crisis: only a minority of Swiss say they feel the pinch

What is your opinion: should the state intervene to reduce the wage gap between high and low earners? Keystone/Goran Basic

Around one-third of Swiss residents and the Swiss Abroad say their financial situation is a strain, while four out of five believe the wealth gap in Switzerland is too wide, a survey by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company, reveals. The rising cost of living is being discussed at a “Purchasing Power” summit in Bern today.

Energy prices were the first to skyrocket, followed by food, rents and health insurance premiums. Steadily shrinking purchasing power has been a hot topic in Switzerland for months. Some observers claim it is the biggest factor behind recent vote setbacks for the centre-right majority in parliament and the business community, especially last spring when Swiss voters accepted a left-wing initiative granting an additional 13th monthly pension payment.

On Thursday Switzerland’s “price watchdog” Stefan Meierhans has invited officials from business and consumer protection organisations to a  “purchasing power” summit – the first one took place a year ago – aimed at finding measures to strengthen purchasing power.

However, an opinion poll commissioned by the SBC shows that while more people say they are feeling greater financial pressures than a year ago, the majority only know about it from hearsay. In all, 35% of respondents say their own financial situation is very or somewhat stressful, 4 percentage points more than a year ago. Meanwhile, 46% are “somewhat” worried about their household budget, and 18 % are not at all concerned.

Looking at the larger regions of Switzerland, canton Ticino clearly stands out: 59% of respondents in the Italian-speaking canton describe their financial situation as “very” or “somewhat” stressful. In 2023, this figure was less than 50%.

This year’s edition of the opinion poll “How are you, Switzerland?” was conducted by the gfs.bern research institute in early summer.

The methodology of the survey

The results of “How are you, Switzerland?” are based on a representative survey of 51,182 Swiss residents and Swiss Abroad. It was conducted by the research institute gfs.bern in May and June 2024 on behalf of the SBC. This is the second time this survey has been carried out. Compared to the previous year’s version, some of the questions were new or different, but most were identical.

In all, 3,000 respondents were selected from a online panel by gfs.bern in order to obtain a representative sample of the Swiss population (16 years and older). The sample was stratified according to language region and proportioned according to age and gender.

The other respondents completed the questionnaire online. They were invited to do so via the SBC channels, but decided for themselves whether or not they wanted to participate. This survey method is not representative. Representativeness is achieved by means of specific data weighting and data validation procedures. The questionnaire consisted of around 300 questions. To ensure that an interview did not exceed approx. 20 minutes, gfs.bern did not ask the same questions to all respondents. The sampling error is +/- 1.8 % at 50:50 and 95 % probability.

Although only a minority of respondents have genuine concerns about their household budget, the survey revealed a strong awareness for social justice issues.

In all, 79% agree or somewhat agree that the wealth gap in Switzerland is too wide. And 88% agree or somewhat agree that owning a home is no longer affordable for most young Swiss people.

An initiative by the Young Socialists – the youth wing of Switzerland’s left-wing Social Democratic Party – caused a brief stir this summer when they called for a 50% tax on inheritances over CHF50 million ($57.3 million). Several Swiss entrepreneurs threatened to move abroad if it were accepted.

Answer the following questions from the SBC opinion poll and compare yourself with people living in Switzerland and the Swiss Abroad.

The SBC survey suggests that such demands may be successful. It found that 69% of respondents are fully or somewhat in favour of increasing wealth taxes in Switzerland.

The concept of the sharing economy, a socio-economic system whereby consumers share in the creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods, is also popular: 72% of respondents were fully or somewhat in favour of sharing everyday items with others, such as household tools, to avoid everybody having to buy one individually.

Adapted from German by Claire Micallef/sb