Rise in employment and fall in turnover in Swiss market sector activities in 1st quarter 2026
Neuchâtel, 09.06.2026 — Market sector activities across the Swiss economy posted contrasting results in the 1st quarter 2026. Turnover fell by 2.6% compared with the same quarter of the previous year while employment in these same market sector activities rose by 0.5% (total employment +0.5%).
Secondary sector
Industry recorded a fall in turnover of 7.1% and employment also fell (–0.5%). However, construction turnover rose by 1.5% and employment by 1.3%. The results for the secondary sector in the 1st quarter 2026 thus show a decline in turnover but a slight increase in employment.
Tertiary sector
Turnover growth was observed in most activities within the tertiary sector the 1st quarter 2026, especially real estate and housing (+3.4%).
The exceptions were wholesale and retail trade (–1.7%) and professional services (–0.5%).
Employment trends in tertiary sector market activities also varied. Administrative and support service activities recorded the highest increase in employment (+2.5%), while financial and insurance activities saw the largest decrease (–1.5%). Retail turnover fell slightly by 0.1% in the 1st quarter 2026, while employment rose by 1.2%.
Focus: transportation and storage
In the reporting quarter, turnover in transportation and storage returned to positive growth for the first time since the 2nd quarter 2024 (+2.0%). However, this development varied across the different transportation and storage activities.
An increase in turnover was reported in activities 49 land transport and transport via pipelines (+2.1%) and 52-53 warehousing and support activities for transportation, and other postal and courier activities (+7.1%). However, turnover figures for 50-51 water transport and air transport fell by 7.6%.
This development was not reflected in the employment figures. With the exception of the previous quarter, the number of jobs in transportation and storage has risen over the last four years. Developments varied among the different activities, however. Employment in 50-51 water transport and air transport rose by 5.4% in the 1st quarter 2026, and 49 land transport and transport via pipelines also saw an increase in jobs compared with the same quarter of the previous year (+1.6%). A decrease in the number of jobs was reported for 52 warehousing and support activities for transportation (–0.8%) and 53 postal and courier activities (–1.1%).
Between the 1st quarter 2021 and 1st quarter 2026, transportation and storage activities developed more dynamically than the tertiary sector as a whole. Employment grew by 10.3%, which was slightly more than the growth (+9.0%) seen across the tertiary sector. Turnover from these activities rose by 25.2%, much more than the average 0.6% decline seen across the services sector over this period.
This press release and further information on the topic can be found on the FSO website.