Wages in Switzerland are likely to have risen slightly more in 2024 than previously assumed. However, some of this is likely to be eaten up by inflation.
According to the third estimate by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), nominal wages have risen by 1.5% in the current year, according to a statement on Friday. The FSO estimates nominal wage development on a quarterly basis.
The figure is based on cumulative wage data and may change with each subsequent estimate. After the first quarter, a wage increase of 0.6% was initially measured, which was then revised upwards to 1.1% after the second quarter.
For most employees, however, wage increases will be eaten up by inflation. Forecasters currently expect an average inflation rate of just over 1% for the year as a whole.
According to FSO calculations, nominal wages rose by an average of 1.7% in 2023. Including annual inflation of 2.1%, real wages fell by an average of 0.4%.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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.
More
Black Friday gets off to a slow start in Swiss shops
This content was published on
Black Friday has established itself as one of the biggest shopping events in Switzerland in recent years. On Friday, however, business was rather slow, especially in the stores.
The invasive Japanese beetle has been discovered in Valais, southwestern Switzerland. The canton now wants to stop the spread of the voracious plant pest.
Court overturns minimum wages in Zurich and Winterthur
This content was published on
The administrative court of canton Zurich has annulled the ordinance on the introduction of a municipal minimum wage in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Winterthur. It said the ordinances violated cantonal law.
CERN ends cooperation with institutes from Russia and Belarus
This content was published on
The cooperation agreement between CERN and Russia and Belarus will be terminated on Saturday, as previously announced. The move is a reaction to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
The Swiss Air Force wants to halve the number of its demonstrations and exhibitions to save money. Participation abroad is planned only in exceptional cases from the beginning of 2025.
Updated free trade deal between Switzerland and China set for 2025
This content was published on
The enhanced free trade agreement between Switzerland and China is set to enter into force in 2025. This is the assumption of parliamentarian Thomas Aeschi, president of the EU-EFTA delegation.
Swiss government sees no need for special law on Sarco suicide capsule
This content was published on
Following the first use of the Sarco assisted suicide capsule in Switzerland in September, the government sees no need for legislative action for the time being.