[Culturechat] CH Wages

[Vance Roy]

I have been asked on more than one occasion about the salaries in CH. An 
article in Swiss News offers some insight into this aspect of life in CH.

A new study has confirmed that Swiss wages are among the highest in 
Europe. It also shows that the difference between high 735 CHF per hour) 
and low (18 CHF per hour) is very great.

The Danish are the only other Europeans to earn more. Only about half of 
the Swiss women work outside the home. The women who do work outside are 
paid only about 70% of the male's salaries. In Scandinavia, as many as 
75% of the women work.

In showing the inequality of Swiss salaries, it is interesting to note 
that only Russia, with the top 10% of salaries being nine times higher 
than the lower 10%, beats out CH. One of the reasons given for this is 
that CH hosts a lot of the world's most successful financial companies. 
60% of the work force is employed in banking, insurance, and financial 
service industries.

It is noteworthy that CH lower paid workers get relatively high wages 
compared to other European countries. There is no legal limit to the 
minimum wage in CH.

The salary of a CH boss averages between 200 and 700 CHF per hour. The 
work week averages 42 hours here. Some work advantages of being in CH 
are: low crime rate, low inflation, low strike rates, low unemployment, 
high productivity, and taxation at about half the average European rates.

Vance Roy
gigli.saw@dplanet.ch.