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Swiss wages: Salaries in Zurich hit record high

The Local
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Swiss wages: Salaries in Zurich hit record high
Zurich is one of the world's most expensive cities. File photo: Depositphotos"

The median wage in Zurich was 7,820 Swiss francs (€6,935) in 2016 – the highest level ever – new figures from Switzerland's largest city show.

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The figure represents the median gross income in Zurich in 2016. That means half of all employees earned less than this amount and half earned more.

The 2016 figure was 1.3 percent higher than the 2014 figures and the highest ever, the city said in a statement published on Wednesday.

Read also: Swiss salaries - bankers no longer the biggest earners

Around one in four workers earned more than 10,000 francs a month and around the same number earned less than 6,000 francs.

The biggest earners were those with a higher education (a median 10,388 francs a month), management-level employees (10,538 francs) and those working in finance (10,949 francs).

The lowest earners were foreigners aged over 50. This group had a median gross income of 4,658 francs.

But while the salaries above may look high, Zurich is notoriously expensive. In fact, a study by Swiss bank UBS published earlier this year put Zurich in top spot globally for prices, with Geneva coming second.

On the plus side, Zurich also came second globally for purchasing power in the same study.

The latest Zurich income figures come from a biennial review carried out by the Swiss Federal Statistics Office. It is based on data from 213,000 people working in the city. Monthly gross income calculations included social welfare contributions, bonuses and a proportion of the extra 13th monthly salary paid to many Swiss workers.

Do you live and work in Zurich? Does the high cost of living cancel out the high wages? Let us know your experiences by sending an email here.

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