2023-11-11 21:10:48
Immigration from the EU is increasing rapidly
Switzerland is on track for a record year in terms of net immigration. This could jeopardize a new deal with the EU.
The demand for workers from the EU is particularly high in the Swiss healthcare system – Italian doctor at the Bern Island Hospital.
Photo: Lukas Lehmann, Keystone
They come by the thousands – primarily from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Romania. Immigration from the EU is at its highest in 15 years. From September 2022 to September 2023, around 65,000 net people moved here, as the federal foreigner statistics show. Only in 2008 was the influx from the EU even higher at 73,000 people.
In general, Switzerland is heading for a record year. By the end of 2023, the Economic Research Center (KOF) at ETH Zurich expects net immigration of “between 135,000 and 150,000 people,” as it recently wrote in a report. In addition to EU citizens, refugees from Ukraine also play an important role, as according to KOF they are now counted as part of the permanent resident population after a year of residence.
EU citizens come despite wave of layoffs
In 2008, so many EU citizens flocked to Switzerland because shortly before, full freedom of movement of people was introduced. Since then, the numbers have been declining – until recently. “Immigration from the EU is particularly strongly driven by the situation on the Swiss labor market,” says KOF economist Michael Siegenthaler. People from the EU are particularly in demand in healthcare, gastronomy and certain other service sectors such as IT or consulting.
Nevertheless, there have been increasing reports of mass layoffs recently. Many jobs were cut, not just at Post and Credit Suisse. How does this fit with the high level of immigration? “The wave of layoffs is limited to some sectors,” says Siegenthaler. The situation is particularly bleak in parts of the manufacturing sector. Overall, things still look good. There are still areas in which many new jobs are being created. The number of jobs in Switzerland has increased by over 100,000 within a year.
Massively more immigration than expected
Politically, the high level of immigration is potentially explosive. The Federal Council decided this week that it wants to develop a mandate to negotiate new agreements with the EU. If the contracts were to come about, this would probably further fuel immigration. The SVP has been warning about a 10 million Switzerland for months and won the elections with this issue.
“Immigration from the EU is far too high,” says SVP parliamentary group leader Thomas Aeschi. The consequences are a housing shortage, congested streets and overcrowded trains. The free movement of people is “not a success story”. Since its introduction in 2002, a net 1.5 million people have immigrated to Switzerland. “This is no longer sustainable.”
Trade unionists are worried
Even left-wing trade unionists are now hearing discontent about high levels of immigration at meetings. In the canton of Neuchâtel, for example, there are companies in which foreigners are in the majority. For Adrian Wüthrich, President of Travail Suisse, it is clear that immigration “will play a central role” in the debate about a new deal with the EU. If it was said in the voting campaign that the free movement of people was important for the economy and prosperity, people would ask themselves what they would gain from it.
Wüthrich reminds us that real wages have stagnated since 2016. “If wage protection doesn’t get better, but actually gets worse, our members will not support the new contract.” The former SP National Council is therefore calling on the Federal Council to “take the fears and concerns of domestic workers seriously”.
Meanwhile, politicians from the SP, Center and FDP emphasized that Switzerland is dependent on workers from the EU. Some of these people do jobs that no one else does. “It is clear that Switzerland cannot grow indefinitely, but the SVP is dramatizing it,” says GLP National Councilor Martin Bäumle. He also presents an approach to a solution: “Switzerland could slow down migration by interpreting the free movement of people in a more selfish way.” In some cases, measures in this country are implemented more obediently than most EU countries.
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