Economy Labour market
Cross-border workers: Ticino edges up but stays below last year
In the second quarter 79,121 cross-border workers were employed in Ticino, 0.6% more than in the previous three months and 0.6% fewer than a year ago. Across Switzerland the total is approaching 414,000.
The Federal Statistical Office's figures for the second quarter of 2026 describe two different movements. The number of cross-border workers is growing in Switzerland and is essentially flat in Ticino.
At the end of June, 79,121 people holding a G permit were working in Ticino. Compared with the first quarter, that is growth of 0.6%. Compared with the same period in 2025, the balance is negative, also by 0.6%.
The national picture differs. Across Switzerland there were around 414,000 cross-border workers, 1.3% more than a year earlier. The five-year comparison shows the scale of the phenomenon: in the second quarter of 2021 there were roughly 350,000, a rise of 18.3% over the period.
Who comes, and from where
The breakdown by country of residence remains stable. 58.4% of cross-border workers live in France, 22.1% in Italy and 16.3% in Germany.
The annual trends diverge. Cross-border workers living in France rose by 2.7%. Those living in Italy fell by 1.1%, and those living in Germany by 0.2%.
Ticino is not an isolated case. In central Switzerland the number of G permit holders fell by 1% over the quarter and by 1.2% over the year. In Zurich the annual contraction was 1.5%.
Overall growth is therefore concentrated on the Lake Geneva region and the cantons bordering France, while the regions facing Italy and Germany are marking time. That distinction is not visible in the aggregate Swiss figure taken on its own.
For Ticino the number remains high in relative terms. The cantonal labour market relies on a workforce living across the border to a degree that no other Swiss region matches in proportion to its own working population.
The stabilisation of the past twelve months allows more than one reading. It may reflect weaker demand from firms, or employment shifting towards residents. The Federal Statistical Office's quarterly data do not allow the two to be told apart, and further surveys will be needed to establish whether the Ticino curve has genuinely changed direction.
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