The Swiss watch industry accounts for about 65,000 jobs and is a key pillar of the economy, with watches and movements among the top five largest export sectors. However, armed conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, coupled with slowing economic growth in much of Europe and particularly in China, are crimping demand for Swiss-made watches in some regions. Meanwhile, fluctuating tariff rates on Swiss goods imported into the U.S., the biggest single country market for Swiss watches, accounting for nearly a fifth of exports, disrupted normal trade flows in 2025. The U.S. and Switzerland reached an agreement in November to lower tariffs to 15% from 39%. Overall, Swiss watch exports declined by 1.6% so far this year compared to 2024, to CHF 21.2 billion at the end of October.
The last time jobs in the Swiss watch industry declined annually was in 2021, as the sector reacted to the temporary drop in sales caused by store closures and trade disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The industry then rebounded sharply as demand for watches surged and prices on the secondary market for the most in-demand models surged to unprecedented levels before a steep pullback that’s now leveled out. The Global Financial Crisis, caused in part by the subprime mortgage market collapse of 2009, took a much bigger toll on jobs in the Swiss watch industry, with employment plunging by almost 8% or more than 4,000 jobs that year. The Swiss watch industry has created some 15,000 jobs since then.
