Three Septembers later, the number of registered unemployed in the canton has risen by more than 10,000 people, from 15,132 to 25,695. That is an increase of 70%, taking the unemployment rate from 1.8% to the current 2.9%.
For bank employees, it did not come in drops, but in waves. The first, from 2023 to 2024, was the direct impact of the Credit Suisse takeover by UBS, and it was expected. Then a slowdown in 2025, which we hoped meant recovery. And then 2026, with a rise almost as sharp as the first. In three years, the number of unemployed whose last employer was a bank has doubled, from 814 to 1,621.
It did not only hit bankers. Unemployment in professional services such as consulting, legal and accounting has also doubled, from 1,530 to 3,028 over the same period.
The Canton of Zurich’s statistics show something else. What they call “academic professions”, the positions most likely to require university-level skills, make up a third of all unemployed this September. Patience will need to be added to their skillset: the number of long-term unemployed has more than tripled in these three years, from 1,355 to 4,316.
October started on an optimistic note, with job openings at banks rising, according to Indeed data reported by Finews. That is positive for the industry, but of little solace to those currently unemployed.
Not all the jobs at Swiss banks are in Switzerland. On 4 November, the UBS careers page for professionals listed 617 openings: 91 in Switzerland, 32 in Zurich.
Julius Baer shows 65 open positions in Zurich out of 195. Almost half are in IT, data and transformation, and many of those are 12-month contracts, probably covering the core banking replacement or other platform work rather than permanent roles.
With these advertised roles, UBS points to revenue producers with client books and networks. Julius Baer tells a story of infrastructure building. Both require specific skills and a track record. Both offer little to generalist profiles, or to the 2,325 business and finance professionals in the unemployment statistics.
It might be that banks have stopped advertising some of their openings. Who could blame them, when AI tools can now apply on candidates’ behalf and every position receives hundreds of CVs.
But beyond technology, there is a structural story. In 2025, Swiss banks posted a record total income of CHF 73.8 billion and did it with 2,345 fewer staff at the big banks. The other banks hired, but unemployment still rose.
Growth and record income with fewer people might be what is left after the waves. Next September will be the fifth. We’ll see if the shore is still where we left it.
