Job vacancies to report to the RAV: the 2026 list of jobs

Hiring a cook, a bricklayer, a receptionist or a sales manager in 2026? Before publishing your ad, you may first have to report it to the regional employment office and wait five working days. This is the job vacancy notification requirement, in force since 2018, whose list of occupations changes every 1 January. In 2026 it grew: cooks and cleaning staff are back on it.

This guide for employers explains who is concerned, gives the full list of the 44 occupation types covered in 2026, details the procedure and deadlines, the exceptions, the sanctions, and what the requirement concretely changes in a recruitment. Everything is drawn from the legal texts and the official SECO pages.

Who must report job vacancies: the 5% threshold

The rule comes down to a few points, set by the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act and the Ordinance on Employment Services:

01

Occupations where unemployment reaches 5%

Employers must report to the public employment service the vacancies in occupation types whose unemployment rate reaches or exceeds 5% (art. 21a para. 3 FNIA, art. 53a OES). The rate is calculated for the whole of Switzerland, averaged over the fourth quarter of the previous year and the first three quarters of the current year, from the unemployed registered with the RAV offices.

02

A list valid for one calendar year

SECO publishes the list in the last quarter; it applies from 1 January to 31 December of the following year. The 2026 list was published on 1 December 2025. An occupation type can enter or leave the list each year.

03

2026: two more occupations, 10.8% of the workforce

All occupation types covered in 2025 remain covered in 2026, and two return after several years of exemption: cooks and cleaners in offices, hotels and other establishments, whose unemployment rate reached 5.3%. The share of the workforce concerned rises from 6.5% in 2025 to 10.8% in 2026. The largest type remains building construction labourers, with 88,187 workers.

04

It is the position that counts, not your industry

The requirement depends on the occupation type of the position to be filled, according to the FSO’s CH-ISCO-19 nomenclature, not on the company’s activity. A hotel hiring an accountant is not concerned; a fiduciary hiring a cleaner is. In case of doubt, the competent RAV decides on the basis of the actual tasks of the position.

05

All employers, agencies included

Every company filling a position is concerned, whatever its size. If you entrust the recruitment to a third party, that party must make the notification on your behalf. Staff leasing companies report their clients’ positions, stating the name of the user company.

First reflex: run the exact job title through the 2026 Check-Up on arbeit.swiss, which is based on the official list and the associated job titles.

The 2026 list of the 44 occupation types subject to the notification requirement

SECO’s official list, valid from 1 January to 31 December 2026, grouped by field. Each occupation type covers several job titles: “sales managers”, for example, includes heads of sales, key account managers and export managers. The file of associated job titles is given in the sources (occupation names translated from the official French, German and Italian lists).

Management, science, culture

Sales managers
Marketing managers
Chemists
Biologists, botanists, zoologists and related professionals
Environmental protection professionals
Graphic and multimedia designers
Technical sales professionals (excluding ICT), technical sector
Technical sales professionals (excluding ICT), medical sector
Economists
Sociologists, anthropologists and related professionals
Philosophers, historians and political scientists
Actors
Conference and event planners

Reception, office, call centres

Call centre information clerks
Telephone switchboard operators
Hotel receptionists
Receptionists (general)

Catering and kitchen

Cooks (new in 2026)
Restaurant service supervisors
Restaurant service assistants
Fast food preparers
Assistant cooks
Kitchen helpers

Construction

Concrete placers, concrete finishers and related workers
Building frame and related trades workers not elsewhere classified
Plasterers and drywall builders
Insulation workers, building envelope
Painters and paperhangers
Building construction labourers, not further specified
Building construction labourers, main construction sector
Building construction labourers, finishing trades

Industry, watchmaking, logistics

Welders and flame cutters
Metal polishers, grinders and tool sharpeners
Watchmaking operators
Laundry machine operators
Forklift truck drivers
Hand packers and other manufacturing labourers
Manufacturing labourers not elsewhere classified
Freight handlers

Cleaning, agriculture, delivery

Cleaners and helpers in offices, hotels and other establishments (new in 2026)
Vegetable and fruit growing labourers
Garden and horticultural labourers
Messengers, package deliverers and luggage porters
Vending machine collectors and meter readers

Two changes from 2025: cooks and cleaners. All the other lines were already covered in 2025.

The procedure: notification, five days of exclusivity, RAV files

For a covered position, the steps are set by arts. 53b and 53c OES:

01

1. Report the position to the RAV before any publication

The notification is made online on the Job-Room platform, by telephone or in person at the RAV of your region. It must contain the occupation sought, the activity and its specific requirements, the place of work, the workload, the start date, the type of contract (fixed-term or open-ended), a contact address, the employer’s name and, for a staff leasing company, the name of the user company (art. 53b para. 2 OES). The RAV confirms receipt.

02

2. Five working days reserved for registered job seekers

For five working days after the position is published on the public employment service platform, only RAV staff and job seekers registered in Switzerland have access to the information (art. 53b para. 6 OES). You may publish the position elsewhere no earlier than five working days later (para. 5). SECO is explicit: this period cannot be shortened.

03

3. The RAV sends you files within three working days

Within three working days of receiving the complete notification, the RAV sends you the data of job seekers whose files are relevant, or informs you that it has none (art. 53c para. 1 OES). This transmission does not shorten the five-day period.

04

4. You invite suitable candidates

The law requires you to invite the proposed candidates you consider suitable to an interview or an aptitude test (art. 21a para. 4 FNIA). You are not obliged to hire any of them, and you do not have to justify why a file does not suit you.

05

5. You report back to the RAV

You inform the RAV of the candidates you considered suitable and invited, whether you hired one of the proposed candidates, and whether the position remains open (art. 53c para. 2 OES). This feedback is an obligation, not a formality: it is what proves you followed the procedure.

After the five days, you are free to publish and recruit as you see fit. The requirement concerns the notification and the interview, never the hiring.

The exceptions: when notification is not required

The act and the ordinance provide a closed list of exceptions (art. 21a para. 5 FNIA, art. 53d OES):

01

The position is filled by a job seeker registered with the RAV

If you hire a person already registered with a RAV, notification is not necessary: the aim of the law is achieved.

02

The person has already worked for you for six months

No notification if the position is filled by a person employed for at least six months without interruption in your company, your group of companies or your economic group. An apprentice you hire at the end of their apprenticeship falls under this exception. It does not apply to staff leasing companies.

03

The contract lasts 14 calendar days at most

An engagement whose duration does not exceed 14 calendar days need not be reported. Beyond that, even for a temporary assignment, notification is due.

04

You hire a family member

The spouse or registered partner of the person authorised to sign for the company, their relatives by blood or marriage in the direct line, and up to the first degree in the collateral line, are exempt. Half-brothers and half-sisters are treated as brothers and sisters.

05

Apprenticeships and training internships

Apprenticeship places and internships that are an integral part of a training course are not vacancies within the meaning of the requirement, SECO’s FAQ specifies.

Everything not on this list is covered. A 20% position, a three-month fixed-term contract or a maternity leave replacement in a listed occupation must be reported.

Checks and sanctions: fines of up to CHF 40,000

The cantons check compliance with the requirement. Breaches fall under administrative criminal law:

01

Intentional breach: up to CHF 40,000

Anyone who intentionally breaches the obligation to report a vacancy or the obligation to invite proposed candidates to an interview or an aptitude test is liable to a fine of up to CHF 40,000 (art. 117a para. 1 FNIA).

02

Negligence: up to CHF 20,000

If the offender acts negligently, the fine can reach CHF 20,000 (art. 117a para. 2 FNIA). Not knowing that the occupation is on the list is no excuse: the list is public and the Check-Up is free.

03

What is checked

The notification itself, compliance with the five-day period before publishing elsewhere, the invitation of suitable candidates and the feedback to the RAV. An ad published on a job site the same day as the report to the RAV is a visible breach.

04

What to keep

The RAV’s acknowledgement of receipt, the date of publication on the public platform, the list of files received, the invitations sent and the feedback given to the RAV. In case of a check, these documents are enough.

In practice, the cantons favour a reminder before a fine. But the fine exists, and it targets the employer, not the mandated agency.

What the requirement changes in your recruitment, and how to make the most of it

For employers in listed occupations, the five days are not necessarily wasted time:

Build the delay into your calendar. Five working days of exclusivity, plus the three days for file transmission, plus interviews: allow two weeks between the decision to recruit and the first free publication. For an urgent replacement in a listed occupation, report the same day.
Use the RAV files. In catering, construction, logistics or reception occupations, the RAV offices have candidates available immediately. A twenty-minute interview costs less than a paid ad.
Write an ad that matches what candidates are looking for. Our job market barometer for French-speaking Switzerland shows that 44% of candidates accept part-time work and 58% accept a temporary assignment: stating the workload and the type of contract from the RAV notification onwards, as the ordinance requires, saves you pointless applications.
Check the permits. The five days are reserved for job seekers registered in Switzerland. For a candidate coming from abroad, our guide to work permits for EU citizens recalls who can be hired without a quota.
Think about shortage occupations. The list only contains occupations with high unemployment. For health, technical or IT occupations, where candidates are scarce, see our top 10 most in-demand jobs.

One thing does not change: the requirement concerns the notification and the interview. The choice of candidate remains entirely yours.

The Licorn method: targeted proposals, once the notification is made

Licorn does not exempt you from the RAV notification for a listed occupation. But once the period has passed, it changes what comes next:

01

You contact profiles whose conditions are known

Salary, workload, remote work, contract, location: every candidate has set their requirements in their profile. You send a precise proposal to those who match, instead of sorting applications.

02

You reach those who do not answer job ads

One candidate in five on Licorn is employed and on standby. They will read neither your ad nor the RAV’s, but they answer a proposal that meets their conditions.

03

You publish your conditions, not one more ad

Our guide for recruiters explains how to set your criteria and let the matching work, without writing an ad for each position.

Frequently asked questions about the job vacancy notification requirement

In short

In 2026, 44 occupation types are subject to the requirement to report job vacancies to the RAV, cooks and cleaning staff included. The rule: report before publishing, leave five working days to registered job seekers, invite suitable candidates and report back to the RAV. The exceptions are limited, fines go up to CHF 40,000, and the final choice remains yours.

Check the occupation type, report on the day of the decision, and use the five days to prepare what comes next.

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