Salaries are expected to rise only very slightly in 2019, according to the specialists at Credit Suisse in their publication “Moniteur Suisse”. An increase almost entirely eaten up by inflation of 0.7%.
Salaries are expected to rise by 0.9% over the 2019-2020 period, Credit Suisse economists estimated on Tuesday. A symbolic increase given inflation of 0.7%. While 2018 is set to see a 0.7% rise in nominal wages, the acceleration in prices, expected at 1% this year, will result in real wages falling by 0.3%. A change is not expected until 2019, as economists are counting on a 1% rise in salaries.
Instead of favouring pay increases as demanded by the unions, companies prefer to focus on job creation. In 2017, salary increases were relatively low, with growth of only 0.4%. “Since 1943, only 1999 has recorded weaker growth”, the Credit Suisse specialists stated in their publication “Moniteur Suisse”. Taking rising prices into account, real wages even fell slightly, by 0.1%, in 2017. Yet the Swiss economic outlook looks bright according to forecasts. Credit Suisse has thus raised its gross domestic product (GDP) expectations to 2.7% this year, compared with +2.2% in its previous estimates.