Switzerland’s ICT workforce has reached an unprecedented level, though the environment in which it operates is evolving. In 2024, approximately 266,000 individuals were employed in ICT positions, representing nearly 70 percent growth since 2010. According to the latest education needs forecast commissioned by ICT-Berufsbildung Schweiz, the country will require around 128’600 additional ICT specialists by 2033. Even after counting expected graduates and immigration, the study still assumes a shortfall of roughly 54’400 qualified people.
At the same time, the broader economic context is cooling. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) now expects unemployment to rise from 2.9 percent in 2025 to about 3.2 percent in 2026, while employment growth is forecast to remain clearly below its long-term average. KOF, the economic research institute at ETH Zurich, reaches similar conclusions. The message is clear: the labour market is softening, not collapsing. For ICT, this combination of structural shortage and cyclical slowdown points to a specific pattern for 2026: fewer broad-based hiring waves, more targeted recruitment of specialists in areas that matter for productivity, security and innovation.
A labour market in recalibration, not retreat
Across the Swiss economy, 2025 has felt like a year of hesitation. SECO data show that the number of registered jobseekers and the general unemployment rate have edged higher, while firms are more cautious about new hires and recruitment cycles have lengthened. A recent consensus forecast by KOF suggests that employment growth in 2026 will be only about 0.5 percent, well below the rates seen in previous upswings.
Yet ICT continues to expand more quickly than most sectors. The 266’000 ICT workers recorded in 2024 represent a three percent increase on 2022 and a 68 percent rise since 2010. The new “Bedarfsprognose 2033” from ICT-Berufsbildung describes ICT as a field with “sustained employment growth”, driven by digitalisation and the increasing use of data across almost all industries. For growth-oriented start-ups this mismatch between macroeconomic caution and structural ICT demand is central: the overall market cools, while digital skills remain in short supply.
Training data support this view. The 2024 annual report of ICT-Berufsbildung notes that 11’453 apprentices were enrolled in ICT training programmes in 2023, 5.2 percent more than in the previous year. But even with this growth, the education system is expected to deliver only around 44’000 additional specialists into ICT roles over the coming years, far short of the projected need. The result is a gap that will not close by 2026.
Shifting demand: fewer generalists, more specialists
The type of ICT roles being advertised is changing. Routine software development, helpdesk tasks and basic testing work are increasingly supported or partly automated by tools and platforms, including generative AI. That reduces the number of junior, highly standardised positions. At the same time, roles that require architectural decisions, system integration or risk management are becoming more important.
The 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer for Switzerland, published by PwC, reports that AI-related job postings rose from roughly 2’000 in 2018 to 23’000 in 2022. After a dip in 2023, the figure stabilised at around 20’000 in 2024. While the share of AI-exposed jobs in all postings remains small and somewhat volatile, the report notes that jobs requiring AI skills tend to grow faster and command higher wages than comparable roles without AI exposure. Firms are adjusting job profiles rather than dismantling IT departments.
Parallel to this, the Swiss ICT and IT services markets continue to grow. Market researchers estimate that the overall ICT market in Switzerland will reach about USD 44.7 billion in 2025 and expand to roughly USD 58.8 billion by 2030, implying an annual average growth rate of 5.6 percent. The IT services segment alone is projected to expand from USD 2.3 billion in 2024 to 4.7 billion by 2035, at an annual rate of almost 7 percent. These projections make it difficult to argue that demand for technical talent will shrink in 2026; instead, demand is likely to become more concentrated in roles that support cloud infrastructure, data processing and secure operations.
What the numbers suggest for 2026
Several sources now sketch a consistent picture of the Swiss labour market for 2026. SECO’s October 2025 economic forecast expects real GDP growth in a range of roughly 1.3 to 1.6 percent, depending on the treatment of calendar effects. Unemployment, as measured by SECO, is forecast to rise to around 3.2 percent in 2026, from 2.9 percent in 2025. A separate synthesis of forecasts by FPRE points to the same number.
A recent commentary on the Swiss job market in 2026 by the recruitment advisory Candidate Impact uses these forecasts to argue that the market will “regain moderate momentum” after a cautious 2025, but that hiring will be more selective. Roles linked directly to innovation, transformation and efficiency are expected to be prioritised, while replacement hiring for standard positions is likely to remain subdued.
Overlaying these macro indicators with the structural shortage in ICT leads to a clear conclusion. Even if total job postings for IT decline somewhat or remain flat in 2026, the subset of roles that combine software engineering with cloud infrastructure, data engineering, cybersecurity or machine-learning integration is likely to keep growing. For Swiss start-ups, which often operate cloud-native platforms and data-heavy products, this is precisely where their demand lies.
Salaries and regional differences
The salary structure reinforces the trend. The 2025 ICT salary study by SwissICT, summarised by IT-Markt and IT-Magazine, finds only a modest rise in median salaries overall, but stronger growth at the junior and early-career levels. Median earnings for security specialists are reported at about CHF 147’000, while IT project managers in consulting approach CHF 160’000. External salary portals such as jobs.ch and jobup.ch show average gross salaries for IT security engineers in Switzerland at around CHF 111’000 per year, with substantial variation by experience and employer.
For software developers, compensation data compiled by SwissDevJobs indicate an average annual income of around CHF 103’000, with significant premiums for roles in Zurich, Zug and Bern. Data engineers and DevOps engineers appear above this level, at about CHF 113’000 and CHF 110’000 respectively. Cybersecurity engineers typically earn between CHF 95’000 and CHF 135’000, with the best-paying positions reaching around CHF 155’000.
Regional and sector differences remain considerable. Analyses of salary data by ICT publications point to higher pay levels in the canton of Zurich and parts of central Switzerland, especially in financial services and larger technology firms, while salaries in Ticino are noticeably lower on average. In the French-speaking part of the country, Geneva and Lausanne stand out as hotspots for well-paid ICT roles, particularly in international organisations, multinationals and the financial sector. Start-ups and younger growth companies generally cannot match the very top salary bands, but compete through equity, rapid responsibility and flexible working conditions.
The role of foreign specialists in closing the gap
The Swiss ICT sector is markedly more international than the labour market as a whole. Research by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute shows that almost one third of ICT professionals in Switzerland are foreign nationals, compared with about 26 percent across the economy. This inflow has been essential in mitigating the skills gap. Federal labour statistics confirm that the number of foreign workers has continued to rise in recent years, even as employment among Swiss nationals has stagnated.
Access conditions differ by origin. Citizens of EU and EFTA states benefit from the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. For specialists from third countries, however, the State Secretariat for Migration stipulates that admission is limited to “well qualified” professionals and subject to quotas and labour-market tests; priority is given to candidates from Switzerland and the EU/EFTA area. In practice, this means that growing start-ups can usually recruit highly skilled engineers from abroad if they can document the need and the level of qualification, but they must plan for lead times of several weeks for permits and, in some cases, compete for limited quota slots.
For 2026, the combination of a forecast unemployment rate of about 3 percent, a continuing structural shortage of ICT specialists and a high share of foreign workers suggests that immigration will remain an important, but not sufficient, part of the solution.
Implications for Swiss growth-stage start-ups
For growth start-ups, the trend towards selective hiring and specialist roles has a double effect. On the one hand, competition for experienced cloud engineers, data engineers and cybersecurity specialists will remain intense in 2026, particularly in Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne. Salaries for these profiles are unlikely to decline and may rise further at the upper end. On the other hand, larger organisations are themselves becoming more cautious about headcount growth, which can free up talent for younger companies that offer compelling technical challenges and ownership.
The 2025 SwissDevJobs market report notes that more than 90 percent of IT professionals in Switzerland now have at least some remote-working flexibility, and over 40 percent are in hybrid or fully remote arrangements. This flexibility expands the potential hiring radius for start-ups and allows them to tap into talent pools beyond traditional clusters, including cross-border commuters and specialists in smaller cantons. Combined with the growing need for AI- and data-related skills, this creates niches where lean, well-positioned teams can grow even in a cautious macroeconomic environment.
Outlook: what 2026 is likely to look like
Taking the various indicators together, the most plausible picture for 2026 is one of recalibration rather than expansion. The Swiss economy is expected to register only moderate growth, with unemployment around 3 to just over 3 percent according to SECO and KOF. The job market will feel more selective, recruitment cycles will remain longer, and firms will be more reluctant to open generalist IT positions.
At the same time, the ICT education forecast to 2033, the continued growth of the ICT and IT services markets and the salary data for specialised roles all point in the same direction: Switzerland will continue to lack skilled ICT professionals, particularly in roles that combine software with cloud infrastructure, data engineering, cybersecurity and machine-learning integration.
For Swiss growth start-ups, 2026 will therefore not be a year of easy recruitment, but it will be a year of opportunities. Teams that can define clear technical profiles, invest in targeted training and make intelligent use of remote and international hiring will be better positioned to attract the scarce skills that remain in demand. For the specialists themselves, the message for 2026 is straightforward: basic IT skills may no longer be enough, but for those who build depth in cloud systems, data pipelines, cybersecurity or AI-enabled applications, Switzerland will remain one of the most attractive labour markets in Europe.
References (APA)
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