Informal employment in Switzerland
Switzerland: Informal employment was 5.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Informal employment in Switzerland, 2014–2024
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total agricultural employment.
Analysis
Switzerland recorded 5.6% for informal employment in 2024.
The figure is down 25.8% on the previous year and down 40.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, informal employment in Switzerland peaked at 9.4% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 2020.
That places Switzerland 41st out of 44 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 10 years of available data.
Informal employment in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | % of total agricultural employment | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 9.4% | — |
| 2015 | 6.9% | -26.1% |
| 2016 | 8.6% | +24.6% |
| 2017 | 8.2% | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 4.6% | -44.0% |
| 2019 | 5.2% | +11.8% |
| 2020 | 3.4% | -34.9% |
| 2021 | 4.2% | +24.8% |
| 2022 | 7.5% | +79.4% |
| 2024 | 5.6% | -25.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 7.2% | 4.6% | 9.4% | 6 |
| 2020s | 5.2% | 3.4% | 7.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More work & labour data for Switzerland
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.0651 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.0485 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.0817 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.4 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.6452 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 8,038 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,842 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 4,568 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 4,558 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 9,126 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is informal employment in Switzerland?
- Informal employment in Switzerland was 5.6% in 2024, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest informal employment recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 9.4% in 2014.
- What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 2020.
- How does Switzerland rank for informal employment?
- Switzerland ranks 41st out of 44 countries with data for 2024.
- Is informal employment rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 40.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Switzerland data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Informal employment (% of total agricultural employment). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
This indicator shows the share of workers at working age in informal employment in agricultural activities out of total employment in agricultural activities, expressed as a percentage. Informal employment comprises persons whose main or secondary jobs are informal. For own-account workers and employers, informality is determined by enterprise characteristics (unincorporated, market-based, and unregistered); for contributing family workers, it is determined by the absence of written contracts and lack of coverage under labor legislation; and for employees, it is determined by whether the employment relationship is not subject to national labor legislation, income taxation, or social protection. The data are based on the statistical standards adopted by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS).