News On 30 September 2006, the Swiss watch and microtechnology industry employed 2,716 more people than one year previously. Total manpower in the industry increased from 41,728 to 44,444 workers (+6.5%). In absolute terms, this increase is attributable mainly to production personnel, whose numbers rose from 31,000 to 33,161 employees (+ 2,161; +6.9%). While managers (1,594 people, up by 11.2%) and administrative staff (9,272 people, up by 5.2%) also recorded strong increases, home workers were the only category to post a decline, falling again from 485 to 417 people (-68; -14%). The number of firms polled showed virtually no change, increasing only slightly by two units (595 firms compared to 593 in 2005).
After fluctuating for several years around the 40,000 mark, manpower levels in the watch industry therefore took another big step forward last year following the advance made in 2005 (+1,730). This brings the watch industry close to the potential manpower it boasted 25 years ago. Indeed, figures of this magnitude have not been seen since 1981 (45,885)! Back then however they did not offer the same grounds for satisfaction as they do today, given the relentless downward trend that accompanied the industry’s transformation from around 90,000 employees in 1970 to fewer than 30,000 in 1987.
Today, three quarters of watch industry staff are employed in workshops. Indeed the largest proportion of watch industry personnel is employed in production (74.6% of employees plus 0.9% home workers). As a result, administrative and organisational tasks are now carried out by only a quarter of personnel, with 20.9% of employees in charge of administration and 3.6% employed in management posts.
It is also interesting to note that the level of training of production personnel is rising steadily. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that Swiss watchmaking is targeting its products increasingly at the luxury market. Committed, highly qualified personnel are therefore of vital importance. This trend is proved by figures from the survey: 10.4% of production personnel now have a higher education and 39.6% hold a vocational diploma (Swiss CFC or equivalent foreign qualification), their numbers bolstered by the 1.8% made up of apprentices. Semi-qualified or unqualified workers now account for only 48.2% of production personnel and 40.0% of all employees.
Meanwhile the proportion of men and women employed in the watch industry is almost perfectly balanced, with 24,107 male workers (54.2%) and 20,337 female workers (45.8%).
From a geographical perspective, the watch industry’s workforce is concentrated for the main part (92%) in the Jura Arc region, with more than 93% of watch manufacturers present in this area. The seven cantons comprising what is justly known as the "watchmaking Arc" have a combined total of 41,756 employees: the canton of Neuchâtel remains the watchmaking canton par excellence with 11,926 workers and 184 firms, followed by Berne (9,447; 155), Geneva (7,606; 63), Soleure (3,689; 35), Jura (4,397; 88), Vaud (3,804; 32) and Basel (887; 8). Outside this region, cantons with significant watchmaking activity include Ticino (1,311 employees), Valais (520), Schaffhouse (446) and Fribourg (284).
June 28, 2007
