(MENAFN – Swissinfo) Switzerland remains an attractive location for foreign companies, creating more jobs last year than in 2019 – despite the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Swiss public television SRF and RTS have reported.
This content is published on April 9, 2021 – 09:25 April 9, 2021 – 09:25 SRF / RTS / ilj
Foreign companies accounted for 11% more jobs in 2020, bringing the total to nearly 1,200, even if the total number of companies moving to the country fell (by 9%), said the SRF. Over the next three years, they are expected to drive the creation of 3,500 jobs.
“The workforce is highly qualified, and taxation is lucrative and Switzerland is in the middle of Europe,” said External Links Jim Fitzgerald, director of Tiffin Metal at the SwissExternal link.
The company, which produces specialty metal solutions for various industries, decided to open its first branch outside the US in Schmitten, in the canton of Friborg.
Stability
These figures come at a time of general global economic woes caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Swiss economy shrank 2.9% last year as a result of Covid-19, the worst annual contraction since the aftermath of the oil crisis in 1975. But officials are optimistic that the Swiss economy will recover.
Patrick Wermelinger, of Swiss Global Enterprise, Switzerland’s export promotion agency, said Switzerland’s stability had played a role.
‘In a year of crisis, stability, long-term planning, economic security play a more important role. This is in Switzerland’s favor. But we were surprised by how many new jobs were being created, ‘he told SRF.
Companies from China, the US and Germany create the most jobs.
Switzerland is also one of the few to have attracted more foreign investment in 2020, according to the SRF. Only Ireland is attracting more, the fDi Markets Financial Times report found.
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