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SuisseSalaries 2026: the sectors where we will win more or … less
According to the KOF survey, Swiss companies are counting on an increase in real wages of 1.3% on average, for next year – with differences according to the sectors.
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Photo by towfiqu barbhuiya on unsplashThe result of the salary negotiations for 2026 should delight a certain number of employees: despite the customs conflict with the United States and cyclical concerns, companies expect a nominal salary increase of 1.3%, on average, announces the “NZZ” Am Sonntag.
The newspaper was able to consult the survey of the Center for Conditional Research (KOF) of the EPF Zurich, carried out with 4,500 companies, to be published next week. After deduction of the inflation planned for 2026, the real salary gain would reach 0.8%.
The building, a big winner
The big winner will be the building, with an increases expected of 1.7%, worn by the strong shortage of labor and its powerful union. In the hotel industry, the pharmacy and the banking field, the increases will also be superior to the average. The pharmaceutical and banking sectors also display notable increases. The situation is less pink in the retail and wholesale trade as well as in industry, with an increase of barely 1%. Restoration should be satisfied with 1.5%. But the consequences of American customs duties will particularly affect exporting sectors such as watchmaking and mechanical construction which could even undergo losses.
Embellish but possible increase in unemployment
This salary embellish intervenes despite an uncertain context, notes the “NZZ AM SONNTAG”. Trade tensions, in particular American customs duties, could slow down growth and cost up to 15,000 jobs, in particular in watchmaking and mechanical construction, according to the KOF. Unemployment, up 2.7 %, could exceed 3 % by the end of the year.
On the union side, where a 5% salary increase was required last year to compensate for the loss of purchasing power, Swiss work judges the increased increases as “appropriate” to support domestic demand.
Delay indicator
The wage dynamics remain a delay indicator: an economic slowdown does not translate until later in wages, underlines the “NZZ AM SONNTAG”. The question of increased support, for example via partial unemployment, is debated. The UDC opposes it, arguing that structural mutations should not be slowed down. On the contrary, the KOF believes that a temporary protection of the healthy sectors remains useful if the customs shock should not last.
Unequal distribution of wage increases
If the salary fall promises to be favorable, all employees will not benefit from it, underlines the KOF survey. Because companies often prefer to grant individual bonuses to their employees instead of collective wage increases. This can accentuate internal differences and push the dissatisfied to change jobs. The KOF thus encourages employers to ensure the maintenance of a balanced salary structure in order to preserve the cohesion of their staff.
