myScience. ch has just published information on salaries in Switzerland. The median gross salary in Switzerland was 5823 Swiss francs in 2008. The lowest-paid 10% of employees all earned less than 3848 francs per month, while the highest-paid 10% all received salaries in excess of 10,538 francs. The wage landscape varies greatly by economic activity and also by region.
The median gross salary in Switzerland was 5823 Swiss francs in 2008. It has continued to rise, but is highly dependent on economic activity and region. The chemical industry (7774 Swiss francs), research and development (8061 Swiss francs) and banking (9127 Swiss francs) are all well above the Swiss median. At the lower end of the salary scale are the textile industry (5026 francs), the leather and footwear industry (4259 francs) and personal services (3683).
The rate of full-time wages below 3,500 francs gross per month continued to fall, from 6.2% in 2006 to 5.4% in 2008. The number of people working in low-wage jobs in Switzerland rose from 199,300 in 2006 to 182,600.
Demand for highly-skilled foreign workers pushes wages up
Foreign employees in the most highly-skilled jobs earn on average more than their Swiss counterparts: CHF 11,765 versus CHF 10,777. Still for highly-skilled jobs, pay differentials between foreign and Swiss workers vary significantly according to residence permit category: holders of permit C (settlement) earn 861 francs more (on average) than Swiss employees; this salary advantage rises to 1235 francs for foreigners with permit L (short-term) and 2256 francs for those with permit B (residence). Only G permit holders (cross-border commuters) earn slightly less than their Swiss colleagues. For low-skilled positions, the salaries of Swiss employees are systematically higher than those paid to their foreign colleagues: + 279 francs for G (cross-border commuters) permits, + 616 francs for B (residence) permits and + 1045 francs for short-term (L) permits.
The regional salary hierarchy: Zurich at the top
The salary landscape in Switzerland differs according to the areas considered. For the most highly-skilled jobs, salary levels are consistently highest in Zurich (12,667 Swiss francs), the North-West (BS, BL, AG) with 11,651 Swiss francs, and the Lake Geneva region (VD, VS, GE) with 10,833 Swiss francs. Ticino remains at the bottom of the wage pyramid, whether for the most highly-skilled jobs (8667 francs) or the least-skilled (3901 francs). This regional wage hierarchy is partly explained by the concentration of high value-added economic sectors in certain areas, and by the uneven structures of job qualification levels in the regional labor market.
More information on salaries for researchers and academics
Salaries for doctoral students and postdocs
Professor in Switzerland, Postdoc in Switzerland, PhD in Switzerland
Source
The figures come from the SwissFederal Statistical Office (FSO).
