Why hundreds of thousands of working people in Switzerland remain poor

Nearly 360,000 people in Switzerland have a job and still cannot meet regular household needs. Caritas put that figure at 8.8% of the working population on September 28, as it urged the federal government and cantons to act before higher health insurance premiums add to the pressure on low-income households.

The number includes people who are employed but whose wages do not cover the cost of living for their household. When relatives and other people living with them are included, the number affected rises to more than 820,000. Caritas says the total of working people at risk of poverty has reached its highest level since the current measurement method was introduced in 2014.

The figures challenge the assumption that employment provides a reliable escape from poverty. In Switzerland, a payslip can coexist with unpaid bills, a depleted bank account and no capacity to absorb an unexpected expense. Housing, compulsory health insurance, food and childcare take priority. Any increase in one of those costs can force a household to cut back elsewhere.

Caritas presented its warning ahead of the announcement of higher health insurance premiums. For families already spending almost all their income on essentials, the premium increase threatens to remove what little room remains in their monthly budgets.

Fixed costs consume the income of households with the least financial room. Aline Masé, head of Caritas Switzerland’s research and policy department, said low-income households spend almost all their resources on fixed expenses and essential needs. That leaves little capacity to absorb higher premiums, rent increases or an unexpected repair.

Health insurance is a particular pressure because basic cover is compulsory and premiums are charged per person. The source does not give a national total for premium increases, but Caritas made its appeal as households prepared for higher charges. For families with several children, the effect can multiply across the household budget.

Childcare creates another barrier. Caritas illustrated the problem with a full-time driver in Zurich canton whose salary is barely sufficient for a family of six. The contribution towards his youngest son’s nursery fees exceeds the family’s budget. The example shows how a parent can work full time and still face a shortfall once care costs are paid.

Housing costs also compete for the same limited income. The source identifies housing and healthcare premiums among the rising living costs worsening the situation. Families just above the threshold for social assistance can face the sharpest gap: they may earn too much to qualify for help while lacking enough income to build a buffer.

Low-paid and unpredictable work makes poverty harder to escape. Pierre-Alain Praz, director of Caritas Vaud, said a lack of post-compulsory education increases the risk of in-work poverty. People in that position often work in low-paid jobs with irregular hours, while the cost and time involved in retraining remain out of reach.

On-call work and hourly contracts deepen the uncertainty. Employees may have to remain available without knowing how many hours they will receive. That makes income difficult to plan and can complicate access to childcare. A household cannot easily commit to regular care when the parent’s schedule changes from week to week.

Single parents face a particularly narrow set of choices. They must combine employment and childcare without a second income in the household. Reducing work can lower earnings, while taking additional shifts can create new care costs. Either option can leave the family exposed.

The educational consequences also extend beyond the immediate budget. Caritas has previously linked poverty with barriers to opportunity, and the source notes that around 180,000 working-age people at risk of poverty live with children. Children in these households can experience the effects through restricted access to activities, learning support and stable daily routines, although the source does not quantify those outcomes in this report.

Caritas wants support designed around the costs that working families actually face. Its proposals begin with a statutory minimum wage, intended to raise the floor for employees whose full-time or part-time earnings remain insufficient. Switzerland currently leaves minimum wage decisions largely to cantons, and the source does not specify a national figure.

The organisation also calls for more predictable working hours and workloads. Greater advance notice would help employees plan income, transport and childcare. It would also reduce the risk that a nominally available job produces too few paid hours to sustain a household.

Caritas wants supplementary benefits for families expanded. Similar benefits already exist in five cantons, according to the organisation. Extending that support could target households whose earnings place them above social assistance thresholds but still leave them unable to cover basic costs.

The proposed training grants would cover more than course fees. Caritas says they should also compensate for lost income and childcare costs, two obstacles that can prevent low-paid workers from gaining qualifications. The approach treats retraining as a practical household expense rather than a personal investment that workers must finance alone.

The immediate test for Swiss policy is whether employment income covers the essentials after compulsory costs are paid. Caritas argues that current measures miss people who sit just above social assistance thresholds. Those households may be working, paying taxes and meeting formal eligibility rules while having no savings to manage rising premiums or care expenses.

The proposed package would combine wage policy with direct household support. A minimum wage could lift earnings. Predictable schedules could make paid work more manageable. Family benefits could target costs linked to children, while training grants could improve access to better-paid and more stable jobs. Each measure addresses a different pressure identified in the report.

Implementation would require choices by both federal and cantonal authorities. Labour rules, family benefits, childcare arrangements and social assistance operate across different levels of government. The five cantons that already provide supplementary family benefits offer an existing policy base, but the source does not assess their results or recommend a single funding model.

For now, the figures set the scale of the problem: 360,000 workers, 8.8% of the working population, and more than 820,000 people in affected households. The debate will turn on whether Switzerland treats those numbers as a temporary cost-of-living problem or as evidence that work and household security have become disconnected for too many families.