Swiss Salaries: Why They Are So High?

The Highest Salaries

There is no national minimum wage in Switzerland, though few cantons set their own rules on this matter – from CHF20.6 per hour in Jura to CHF24 in Geneva. The average minimum wage per hour is CHF22.61 in Neuchâtel. These wages are the highest in Europe. Obviously, most residents, cross-border workers earn much more. According to data, an average monthly salary in Switzerland this year was at CHF6,321 (around USD6,990 USD as per average exchange rate). It is more than in Luxembourg and Denmark, that comes in second and third in this ranking. As taxes are very low in the country, the net disposable income is the highest in Europe. Which means people have the most money to spend on. Disposable income of employees in eight Swiss cities – e.g. Zug, Zurich, Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano, and Lucerne, is bigger than in other cities of the continent.

Cross-border Workers and Immigrants Earning More

Higher immigration rate has been a thing recently in the country. It is due to the fact that there is big demand on the labour market and shortages of employees is observed. Especially those high-skilled workers are missing. Employers offer higher salaries to those willing to move to the country and fill in vacant positions. This is also the case for cross-border workers that earn much more than in their countries of residency – double or triple.

Strong Economy

Another reason for very high Swiss salaries is strong economy. The most stable in Europe, and also very innovative one. Gross domestic product per capita is 102,875 USD. General GDP is 813 billion with population of the country 8.70 million. Most of the Swiss GDP, 74 percent, is generated by the services sector, only 25 percent by industry. Though industry is very powerful one, especially famous watches branch (around 8 percent of all exported good, worth USD24 billion). When it comes export, pharmaceutical and chemical products are on top, making 53 percent of all export. Tourism is also strong sector, as the country is popular destination for international tourists, even though it is an expensive one.