The main banks operating in Switzerland are looking for fewer staff. In September 2026, the number of job openings posted on the websites of the ten largest institutions in the sector fell by 2% compared with August, to 515 listings. This is the finding of an analysis reported on 13 October 2026 by the Keystone-SDA news agency.
Who measured it, and how
The survey was carried out by the job portal Indeed on behalf of the AWP news agency. The method, as described by the source, consists of counting the vacancies posted on the websites of the ten largest companies in the Swiss banking sector. Only positions located in Switzerland were taken into account.
The source does not provide the full list of banks included, nor a breakdown of listings by occupation or function. On this basis, it is therefore not possible to say which profiles are more or less in demand.
A steeper decline over several years
The monthly drop of 2% is part of a longer trend. Year on year, the number of listings is down 14%. The gap is even wider compared with September 2024 (-27%) and above all with September 2023 (-72%).
These figures relate to published listings, not to hires actually made or to changes in headcount. One fewer job opening does not necessarily mean one position cut: it may also reflect a slower pace of replacement or recruitment through other channels. The source does not comment on these points or on the reasons for the decline.
UBS leads the decline
According to the analysis, all the banks observed show falling demand for staff. The decline is described as particularly marked at UBS. The source does not publish figures by institution and does not mention any bank whose number of listings increased.
Unemployment among former bank employees remains high
The same dispatch points to another indicator, separate from the first. According to the latest figures from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), 4638 people who had previously worked at a bank were registered as unemployed in Switzerland in September. A year earlier, this number was nearly a fifth lower. Compared with August, however, it fell slightly (-0.5%).
In July, SWI swissinfo.ch had already reported 4474 former bank employees registered as unemployed in June, an increase of 24% over 12 months, a level then described as a record.
What these figures say, and what they do not
These series measure different realities: on the one hand, listings posted by a small number of large institutions; on the other, unemployment registrations of all people who have worked at a bank. Putting them side by side sheds light on the banking labour market, but does not, on its own, allow conclusions to be drawn about employment trends in the sector.
The September figure is, moreover, a monthly snapshot. Only the publication of the next surveys will show whether the decline in listings continues, levels off or reverses.
