Swiss banks reduce recruitment as vacancies continue to fall

Swiss banks posted 515 vacancies in September, giving jobseekers a smaller pool of openings across the country’s leading financial institutions. The total fell 2% from August, according to an analysis by the job portal Indeed for the agency Awp. The figures cover vacancies published on the Swiss websites of the ten largest companies in the sector.

The annual decline is sharper. Job adverts fell 14% from September 2025, 27% from September 2024 and 72% from September 2023. The trend places recruitment at its weakest point in the comparison provided by the survey.

The figures offer a timely reading of demand for labour in Swiss banking. Banks continue to advertise roles, but they are doing so at a markedly lower volume than in the previous three years. The analysis includes only positions based in Switzerland, leaving out international recruitment by the same groups.

For candidates in Zurich, Geneva, Basel and other financial centres, the contraction narrows the number of visible entry points and experienced hires. It also provides a snapshot of employer demand at a time when the wider banking workforce is facing a growing number of jobseekers.

All ten banks surveyed showed weaker demand for labour, with UBS among the institutions recording the most pronounced decline. The source analysis does not provide a separate vacancy count for each bank, but it identifies the pattern as broad rather than confined to a single employer.

That matters for Switzerland’s financial labour market. UBS is the country’s largest bank and its recruitment decisions carry weight across the sector, particularly for experienced staff in areas such as operations, technology, compliance and investment services. The available figures do not specify which roles fell most sharply, so the data should be read as a measure of overall hiring activity rather than a breakdown of skills in demand.

The fall also comes against a longer retreat in advertised roles. Compared with September 2023, the number of vacancies has dropped 72%. Monthly movement was more limited, at 2% between August and September, suggesting a gradual reduction rather than a single month’s collapse.

Indeed’s survey tracks published vacancies, not every hiring decision. Banks may fill positions through internal transfers, recruitment agencies or direct approaches. Even with that limitation, the common direction across the ten institutions points to more restrained recruitment plans in Switzerland.

A total of 4,638 former bank employees were registered as unemployed in September, according to the latest figures from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, known as SECO. That was almost one fifth more than in September 2025, showing that the pool of people seeking work has grown while advertised vacancies have contracted.

The monthly picture was slightly more stable. The number fell 0.5% from August to September. The decline offers limited relief because the annual level remains substantially higher than a year earlier and sits alongside the reduced flow of new vacancies.

SECO’s figure covers people across Switzerland who previously worked in a bank and registered as unemployed. It does not show how long each person has been seeking work, which roles they held or whether they are pursuing jobs inside or outside finance. Those details would be needed to assess how quickly the sector is absorbing displaced workers.

The data nevertheless links two developments in the employment market: banks are publishing fewer openings, while more former banking staff are registered with the unemployment system. That combination increases competition for available positions, especially for candidates whose experience is tied closely to traditional banking functions.