The labour market has shown resilience, helped by swift policy support
The number of job vacancies exceeded their pre-crisis level in the second quarter of 2021
The short-time working scheme significantly cushioned the impact of the pandemic on employment
The impact of containment measures differed across sectors
Skilled labour shortages temporarily eased during the pandemic
Short time work use differed across groups
Probability that an employee moves to non-employment or short-time work between consecutive quarters
The Swiss labour market performs well in international comparison
The sizeable gender wage gap and high incidence of part-time work weigh on women’s labour incomes
Women and foreigners disproportionally work in the most affected sectors
Employment gaps are sizeable for some groups
Short-time work was massively used in the sectors most affected by restrictions
Several countries have recently (re)introduced or increased co-financing by firms in job retention schemes
Gross replacements rates in job retention schemes tend to be higher than in the unemployment benefit systems
Self-employment represents a sizable share of employment in Switzerland
Access to social protection is limited for self-employed workers
Enrolment in early childhood education and care is low
The disincentives for second-earners to move to full time employment are very large
Incidence of long-term unemployment increases with age
Performance in reading varies widely across socio-economic groups
The pandemic crisis led to widespread closure of schools
Participation in adult learning is high but should be broadened
Participation in life-long learning has declined during the pandemic, especially for older workers who tend to have lower digital skill
Swiss adults’ digital skills are solid but lag the top performers
Immigrants have heterogeneous educational attainment