11.03.2025 - Turnover in secondary and tertiary market activities declined by 1.4% in the 4th quarter 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. The fall in turnover contrasts with an increase in employment of 0.5% in the same period. These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Turnover in the secondary sector (industry and construction) rose by 2.6%, whereas in the tertiary sector (retail trade and services) it fell by 4.2%. The increase in employment was driven by both the secondary (+0.6%) and tertiary sector (+0.5%).
Secondary sector
In the industrial sector, turnover in the 4th quarter of 2024 rose by 2.5% compared with the previous year, while construction turnover increased by 3.2%. With regard to employment, both industry (+0.4%) and construction (+1.0%) recorded positive growth.
Tertiary sector
Turnover in the services sector fell by 4.2% in the 4th quarter 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, while employment rose by 0.5%. Retail turnover remained stable in the 4th quarter 2024 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Employment in retail decreased (‒1.1%), however
Focus topic: High added value in the pharmaceutical industry
Compared with 2023, in 2024 the pharmaceutical industry (economic division 21 'Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations') achieved the third-highest growth in turnover in the secondary sector as a whole, surpassed only by the energy supply (24.8%) and civil engineering sectors (15.0%). Moreover, as the biggest contributor to secondary sector turnover (12.6% of the share in turnover), the pharmaceutical industry was a key driver of overall growth in this sector. During the same period, pharmaceuticals led the secondary sector in employment growth. Employment (full-time and part-time) in the pharmaceutical industry rose by 6.1% in 2024 over the previous year. The pharmaceutical industry's share of employment in the secondary sector (4.9%) is relatively low compared with its share of turnover - a clear indicator of the high level of added value it generates in the Swiss economy.
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