The latest wage survey from UBS has been released, and it's good news for a majority of workers in Switzerland. The Swiss bank predicted that while salary rises will be smaller than those in 2024, falling inflation means real wages will rise faster.

Real wages in Switzerland will rise in 2025

Based on a survey of 350 major companies in Switzerland, UBS predicted that employees can expect average wage increases of 1,4 percent for 2025. While this is slightly lower than the nominal wage rises seen this year (1,8 percent), inflation and interest rates have fallen to a two-year low in recent months, and are predicted to stay there for the foreseeable future.

As a result, real wages in Switzerland should rise by 0,7 percent in the next year, the fastest average wage rise seen since the COVID pandemic. UBS economist Florian Germainer said that, excluding the ever-rising cost of health insurance, “the loss of purchasing power triggered by the rise in inflation in 2022 should be almost compensated for next year."

Which salaries in Switzerland will increase the most?

In 2025, workers in IT and telecommunications will see the biggest wage rises in Switzerland at 2 percent on average, the second year in a row that the sector has benefitted from the biggest salary hikes. Those who work for energy providers (2 percent) and staff in the medicine and chemical industries rounded out the top three.

Other sectors that will see above-average wage rises include architecture, logistics, food, consumer goods, banking, insurance, healthcare and social workers at 1,5 percent. By contrast, the smallest wage rises are expected in the construction material, retail and media sectors at 1 percent on average.

Nevertheless, UBS predicted that employees in all sectors of the economy will see their wages rise faster than inflation.

Swiss wages still need to catch up, argue unions

Despite the rise, the salary report was given a cool response by Swiss unions. The president of the  employee umbrella organisation Travailsuisse, Adrian Wüthrich, told Blick that the figures show “that there is still some catching up to do in terms of wages, particularly in industry." 

He said that while welcome, “This wage growth does not sufficiently reflect the productivity gains in the economy." Data from the Swiss government suggests worker productivity rose by 2,7 percent between 2020 and 2023, though declined slightly last year.

For employers, the association's chief economist Simon Wey told Blick that basing wage rises on productivity would be too complex for most businesses. He added that the figures are a warning sign to companies who aren’t offering generous wage rises: "Industries that can only increase wages below average run the risk of not finding enough workers in the future."