Federal Statistical Office shows where the working hour comes into play
As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) at the end of August 2018, labour costs (reference year: 2016) vary according to economic sector and company size. For example, employees in financial and insurance service providers cost the most.
The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) distinguishes these costs not only by economic sector, but also by company size. In the secondary and tertiary sectors, the FSO calculated costs of CHF 60.05, which is the average cost of an hour's work in Switzerland. This is more than in the last survey in 2014, when the hour still cost 59.60 francs. Once again, the cheapest hour worked in 2016 came in the hospitality sector at 36.68 francs.
Different labour costs
Labour costs are all expenses borne by the employer. In Switzerland, 79.9 percent of these costs are made up of gross wages. Employers' social security contributions account for 16.9 percent. The costs of vocational training and personnel recruitment account for 3.2 percent.
The employees of the financial and insurance service providers lead the cost table. They incur 92.10 francs per hour. The financial industry is followed by information and communication with 77.95 francs per hour and professional, scientific and technical services with 76.50 francs. In addition to the hotel and restaurant industry, labour costs in the tertiary sector were also low in arts, entertainment and recreation (53.01 francs) and in other scientific services (44.99).
Differences in farm sizes
Labour costs also vary according to the size of the enterprise. In the secondary and tertiary sectors, the cost per hour worked was 25.8% higher in companies with 50 or more employees (Fr. 64.50) than in small companies with fewer than ten employees (Fr. 50.35). This result is mainly due to the large differences in income levels, as wages and salaries were on average 22.8% higher in enterprises with 50 and more employees than in small enterprises.
However, this disparity is not observed in all sectors of the economy and is not related to the level of labour costs. The size of the enterprise had little influence on the costs per hour worked, for example, in financial intermediation, where labour costs were 4.6% higher in large enterprises, or in other business activities, where they were 2.4% higher in enterprises with less than ten employees than in enterprises with 50 or more employees.
The differences in the tertiary sector were thus far more striking than in manufacturing. The average value in the service sector was 61.36 francs per hour.
In industry and commerce, on the other hand, the lowest hourly labour costs were incurred in the construction sector, at 51.71 francs. The highest hourly labour costs were incurred in the energy utilities sector, at CHF 72.36 per hour. The average value was 56.67 francs.
Employers' labour costs differ not only by industry and sector, but also by establishment size. The FSO data according to the study, costs are lower in smaller companies. In companies with more than 50 employees, they were a good quarter higher in 2016 at CHF 64.50 per hour than in companies with fewer than ten employees (CHF 50.35).
Switzerland has its price
The reason for such cost developments is the almost 23 percent lower wages in smaller companies. However, this is not the case in all sectors and branches of the economy: In the credit and insurance industry and in the provision of other economic services, labour costs were higher among small companies.
In the EU average, one hour cost 29.27 francs in 2016 according to the daily exchange rate (end of August 2018). The most expensive was Denmark with 49.42, the cheapest Bulgaria with 5 francs. In Germany, an hour of work cost 38 francs.
