KOF Employment Indicator: Firms Planning to Create Jobs

The KOF Employment Indicator for the second quarter of 2018 stands at 3.6 points, which is virtually unchanged on where it was three months ago (3.4 points, revised upwards from 2.8). For over half a year now there have been more firms in Switzerland that are considering increasing their headcount – or have definite plans to do so – than companies that are looking to reduce their staffing levels. These optimistic employment expectations on the part of firms are a result of the latest KOF Business Tendency Surveys.

Service sectors planning to create more jobs

The positive employment outlook is fairly widespread across the various sectors. However, the Employment Indicator for the category of ‘other service industries’ has performed particularly well. This group includes firms operating in sectors such as transport, information and communication technology, housing and real estate, and healthcare and social services. The Indicator for these sectors has risen steadily in recent quarters after having suffered a setback in the wake of the Swiss franc shock. The Indicator for the ‘other service industries’ category in the current quarter is the highest it has been for more than six years. The KOF surveys also reveal promising employment prospects – with certain exceptions – in manufacturing, wholesaling and banking. The Employment Indicators for the retail and hospitality sectors, on the other hand, remain in negative territory – albeit not as deeply as before. The KOF surveys therefore suggest that these two sectors are more likely to cut jobs over the next few weeks and months than they are to increase them.

Note:

The Employment Indicator was revised slightly in November to incorporate input series that have been adjusted for seasonal effects. This change required the Indicator’s weighting to be slightly adjusted as well.