Over-55s account for less than 10% of new hires in Switzerland
Over-55s account for less than 10% of new hires
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Over-55s account for less than 10% of new hires in Switzerland
Only 8% of Swiss jobs are filled by people aged 55 and over, even though this age group represents 23% of the working population, says insurer Swiss Life.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Français
fr
Les plus de 55 ans représentent moins de 10% des recrutements
Original
While the integration of older employees is good in Switzerland by international comparison, people who lose their jobs over the age of 55 often find it difficult to find new work. When the retirement age has passed, at 65 and over, only 16% of employers are clearly willing to hire, and 28% can “rather envisage it”, note the authors of the study.
When asked about the ideal retirement age for men, 46% of employers indicated an age below 65. Only 15% of employers surveyed set the ideal retirement age at 66 or over. In the case of women, 58% of employers believe that the ideal retirement age is below 65.
Half of all companies note that finding qualified staff is a difficult task. Yet only 22% see hiring older employees as a solution, and 13% encourage working beyond retirement age. And yet, this reserve of manpower is considerable, insofar as people aged between 55 and 70 represent around a fifth of the available potential workforce.
“It is conceivable that, in the future, a worsening of the demographic shortage of skilled labor will boost the labor market for those aged 55 and over, and in particular those aged 65 and over, and that the corresponding labor force potential will be more fully tapped,” says Andreas Christen, Head of Pension Research at Swiss Life Switzerland.
The data is taken from an online survey based on responses from around 1,000 human resources managers working in companies employing at least four people.
More
Debate
Hosted by:
Samuel Jaberg
How should we tackle the shortage of skilled workers in Switzerland?
Are you also affected in your company or your field of work? Tell us about your experiences!
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Politics
In Switzerland, New Year brings ‘burqa ban’ and pension hikes
Should Switzerland take measures to support its struggling industries?
Industrial policies are back in fashion, not only in the United States but also in the EU. Should Switzerland, where various industries are struggling, draw inspiration from such policies?
Swiss plan 1,600 extra trains for Eurovision, Women’s EURO 2025 and other events
This content was published on
Swiss Federal Railways is planning to operate 1,600 additional trains to transport passengers to special events in 2025, such as the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 and the Eurovision Song Contest.
Swiss study: higher prices for cheese with protected geographical indication
This content was published on
Indications of geographical origin play a central role in the cheese trade, a study by the Agroscope research centre shows.
Swiss campaigners launch another ‘responsible business initiative’
This content was published on
A coalition has launched a new "responsible business initiative", urging the government to ensure that Swiss-based multinationals and their subsidiaries abroad respect human rights and protect the environment.
Swiss court suspends Geneva plan to ban single-use plastics
This content was published on
A Geneva court has suspended a ban on the sale of single-use plastics in the city, which was due to be introduced on January 1. This follows an appeal by Swiss retailers to the Federal Court.
Swiss cable car firms and hotels report positive winter so far
This content was published on
The Swiss cable car association and Switzerland Tourism have reported higher visitor numbers at winter resorts over the Christmas and New Year period compared to 2023/24.
UBS expects Swiss National Bank to record CHF80bn profit in 2024
This content was published on
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is expected to make a net profit of CHF80 billion ($88.4 billion) in 2024, according to UBS.
This content was published on
Consumer prices fell last year in Switzerland, new figures show. Higher rents and electricity prices were partially offset by lower prices for gas and prescription drugs.
This content was published on
New data from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) shows that flu cases doubled in Switzerland between mid and late December.
Swiss bank Julius Bär sells its Brazilian operation
This content was published on
Swiss private bank Julius Bär has signed an agreement to sell its operation in Brazil for 615 million reais, or CHF91 million ($100.7 million).
Historian claims Swiss banks may hold further Second World War secrets
This content was published on
Bank archives could still hold secrets about Swiss actions during the Second World War and should be re-examined, especially those of UBS, says Marc Perrenoud, a historian who worked on the Bergier Commission.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.