Jobs in Nidwalden: the market, the hiring sectors and where to look in 2026
Nidwalden has 26,000 jobs (STATENT 2024), 1.2% unemployment in September 2026, and an industry that accounts for more than one job in five. Stans is home to a world-renowned aircraft manufacturer and its suppliers; Hergiswil, Stansstad and the Bürgenstock live on tourism and the immediate proximity of Lucerne.
Here you will find the official figures of the month, the sectors hiring, the occupations to target and where to look for a job in Nidwalden. See also jobs in Obwalden and jobs in Lucerne.
The job market in Nidwalden in figures
Unemployment rate: 1.2% in September 2026
According to SECO, 309 people were registered as unemployed in Nidwalden in September 2026, a rate of 1.2% against 1.1% a year earlier. Swiss average: 3.0%.
Median wage: CHF 7,092 gross per month in Central Switzerland
According to the Swiss Earnings Structure Survey (2024), the median gross monthly full-time wage is CHF 7,092 in Central Switzerland, against CHF 7,024 for Switzerland. A benchmark for your salary expectations, to adjust by occupation and experience.
25,999 jobs in the canton
The FSO business census (STATENT 2024) counts 25,999 jobs in the canton of Nidwalden.
The sectors hiring in Nidwalden
Manufacturing, 21.0% of jobs
Aviation in Stans, glassworks in Hergiswil, mechanics and electronics on the plain: engineers, polymechanics, aircraft builders and operators are sought after (STATENT 2024).
Health and social care, 11.4% of jobs
The cantonal hospital in Stans, care homes and home care hire nurses, assistants and support staff.
Retail and wholesale, 11.1% of jobs
Supermarkets and shops in Stans, wholesale around the motorway: sales staff, logisticians, office clerks.
Professional services, 9.8% of jobs
Engineering offices, fiduciaries and consulting, often linked to local industry and to companies that settled for tax reasons.
The jobs in demand in Nidwalden in 2026
The occupations where job offers come up most regularly in Nidwalden, selected from the weight of each sector (FSO, STATENT 2024) and SECO’s 2026 list of occupations subject to the job vacancy notification requirement. For those, vacancies appear first on Job-Room for five working days.
Aviation and industry
- Aircraft builder / aircraft mechanic: the Stans manufacturer and its suppliers
- Polymechanic / production operator: mechanics, composites and glassworks
- Engineer: aviation, mechanics, electronics
- Maintenance technician: industry and aviation
Health and social care
- Nurse: cantonal hospital in Stans, care homes
- Healthcare assistant: care homes and home care
- Social worker / educator: institutions and residential homes
Retail and services
- Sales assistant: shops in Stans and shopping centres
- Office clerk: SMEs, fiduciaries and head offices
- Forklift driver / warehouse worker: logistics around the motorway (notification to the employment office required in 2026)
Tourism and construction
- Cook: Bürgenstock, Hergiswil, Lake Lucerne; back on the 2026 list (notification to the employment office required in 2026)
- Hotel receptionist: lakeside and Bürgenstock hotels (notification to the employment office required in 2026)
- Bricklayer / construction labourer: housing sites (notification to the employment office required in 2026)
Create your Licorn profile with your occupation and your conditions: recruiters looking for that profile in Nidwalden contact you directly.
The occupations available on Licorn in Nidwalden
Whether you are an accountant, a nurse, an engineer, an electrician or an office clerk, you can enter your occupation and your requirements on Licorn so that recruiters searching in Nidwalden can identify you. The families below follow the Swiss classification of occupations (CH-ISCO); open them to see the most common job titles.
Administration, secretarial and reception (7 occupations)
- Office clerk
- Administrative assistant
- Executive assistant
- Medical secretary
- Receptionist
- Call centre agent
- Case administrator
Accounting, finance and audit (8 occupations)
- Accountant
- Accounts clerk
- Chief accountant
- Controller
- Financial analyst
- Auditor
- Tax specialist
- Payroll specialist
Banking and insurance (7 occupations)
- Bank client advisor
- Wealth manager
- Insurance advisor
- Claims handler
- Compliance specialist
- Credit analyst
- Trader
Human resources (6 occupations)
- HR assistant
- HR specialist
- HR manager
- Recruiter
- Staffing consultant
- Training manager
IT and software development (9 occupations)
- Software developer
- Web developer
- Software engineer
- System and network administrator
- IT support technician
- IT project manager
- Cybersecurity specialist
- DevOps / cloud engineer
- Software tester
Artificial intelligence and data (5 occupations)
- Data analyst
- Data scientist
- Machine learning engineer
- Data engineer
- Business intelligence analyst
Engineering (8 occupations)
- Mechanical engineer
- Electrical / electronics engineer
- Civil engineer
- Microtechnology engineer
- Process engineer / chemist
- Quality engineer
- Design draughtsman
- Technical project manager
Industry and production (11 occupations)
- Production operator
- Polymechanic
- Production mechanic
- Watchmaking operator
- Watchmaker
- Polisher
- Chemical / pharma operator
- Laboratory technician
- Welder
- Bar turner
- Production manager
Technical and maintenance (6 occupations)
- Maintenance technician
- Automation technician
- Electronics technician
- Industrial mechanic
- Service technician
- HVAC technician
Construction and civil engineering (8 occupations)
- Bricklayer
- Construction labourer
- Site manager
- Foreman
- Construction machine operator
- Road builder
- Architectural draughtsman
- Architect
Finishing trades and crafts (8 occupations)
- Painter
- Plasterer
- Joiner / cabinetmaker
- Carpenter
- Tiler
- Plumber
- Heating installer
- Roofer
Electrical trades and installations (6 occupations)
- Electrician
- Electrical fitter
- Electrical assembler
- Network electrician
- Telematics technician
- Solar installer
Health and nursing (6 occupations)
- Nurse
- Specialist nurse (emergency, intensive care, anaesthesia)
- Healthcare assistant (FaGe)
- Nursing aide
- Midwife
- Home care nurse
Medical and allied health (10 occupations)
- Physician
- Resident physician
- Pharmacist
- Pharmacy assistant
- Physiotherapist
- Occupational therapist
- Radiographer
- Medical practice assistant
- Dental assistant / hygienist
- Psychologist
Social work and care (6 occupations)
- Social educator
- Social worker
- Early childhood educator
- Care assistant
- Community worker
- Home helper
Education and training (6 occupations)
- Primary school teacher
- Secondary school teacher
- Vocational school teacher
- Adult trainer
- Language teacher
- Special needs teacher
Retail and sales (8 occupations)
- Sales assistant
- Cashier
- Store manager
- Sales consultant
- Technical sales representative
- Key account manager
- Sales manager
- Retail employee
Marketing and communication (7 occupations)
- Marketing specialist
- Marketing manager
- Communications officer
- Social media manager
- Graphic designer
- Content manager
- Digital marketing specialist
Real estate (4 occupations)
- Property manager
- Real estate broker
- Caretaker
- Property accountant
Logistics and transport (8 occupations)
- Logistician
- Forklift driver
- Warehouse worker
- Truck driver
- Delivery driver
- Bus / train driver
- Customs clerk
- Supply chain manager
Hospitality and catering (10 occupations)
- Cook
- Head chef
- Kitchen helper
- Waiter / waitress
- Head waiter
- Bartender / barista
- Hotel receptionist
- Housekeeper
- Head housekeeper
- Hotel / restaurant manager
Tourism, sport and leisure (6 occupations)
- Ski lift operator
- Ski / sports instructor
- Travel agent
- Tour guide
- Tourist office employee
- Fitness coach
Cleaning, maintenance and security (6 occupations)
- Cleaner
- Cleaning supervisor
- Security guard
- Airport security officer
- Gardener / landscaper
- Facilities operative
Agriculture, food and environment (8 occupations)
- Farm worker
- Winegrower / cellar worker
- Cheesemaker / dairy worker
- Baker
- Butcher
- Food technologist
- Forester
- Environmental specialist
Personal services and beauty (6 occupations)
- Hairdresser
- Beautician
- Domestic worker
- Nanny
- Au pair
- Massage therapist
Legal, consulting and purchasing (7 occupations)
- Lawyer
- Attorney
- Paralegal
- Consultant
- Buyer
- Project manager
- Economist
Management and leadership (6 occupations)
- Chief executive
- Chief financial officer
- Sales director
- Team leader
- Branch manager
- Site / operations manager
Your occupation is not listed? The Licorn profile accepts any title: enter yours as you would search for it.
Where to look for a job in Nidwalden
The cantonal employment office: RAV Obwalden Nidwalden (Hergiswil)
Registration is required to receive unemployment benefits, but useful even without: counsellors, training measures, and above all Job-Room, where positions subject to the notification requirement are published five days before any other channel. RAV Obwalden Nidwalden (Hergiswil)
The generalist portals
Our top 5 job platforms in Switzerland places jobs.ch, jobup.ch, Job-Room, Indeed and LinkedIn. For Nidwalden, jobs.ch is the reference portal on the German-speaking side.
Licorn: your conditions, and recruiters come to you
Create a profile with your salary, location, workload and remote work wishes: recruiters offering a job in Nidwalden see you and send proposals. Licorn is opening up to German-speaking Switzerland: the number of recruiters there is still limited, and your profile is visible to them now.
Aviation, a unique skills pool
Suppliers, maintenance and training gravitate around the Stans manufacturer: a candidate with a mechanical or composites profile has a market here found nowhere else in Central Switzerland.
Network and spontaneous applications
Some positions are never advertised: professional associations, former colleagues, local fairs. A solid file remains essential: see our guides to the Swiss CV and the cover letter.
The Licorn method for a job in Nidwalden
A profile with your conditions
Salary, location, workload, remote work, type of contract: you set them once. Recruiters see them before contacting you.
Proposals, not applications
Recruiters see the profiles that match their position and send a proposal with the position’s conditions; Skan, Licorn’s agent, constantly scans the market to suggest relevant openings to you. You accept or decline.
Free for candidates
No fees, no cover letter for a position that does not suit you. Our job market barometer shows what candidates ask for.
Frequently asked questions about jobs in Nidwalden
1.2% in September 2026 according to SECO, against 1.1% a year earlier and 3.0% on average in Switzerland. SECO publishes cantonal figures at the start of each month.
The median gross monthly full-time wage is CHF 7,092 in Central Switzerland (FSO, 2024). Adjust by occupation, experience and sector: our articles on the best-paid jobs and the 13th salary give benchmarks.
Among the occupations where job offers come up most regularly in Nidwalden: aircraft builder / aircraft mechanic, polymechanic / production operator, nurse, healthcare assistant, sales assistant, office clerk, cook, hotel receptionist. See the list of occupations above for the detail by sector.
No, except to receive unemployment benefits. But registered candidates see positions subject to the notification requirement first, for five days, on Job-Room, and get a counsellor.
In most occupations, yes, at least spoken, and dialect matters day to day. English-speaking positions exist in large companies, IT and research. State your languages in your profile: recruiters filter on it.
You create a profile with your conditions, recruiters with a position in Nidwalden send you proposals, you accept or decline. Licorn is opening up to German-speaking Switzerland: the number of recruiters there is still limited, and your profile is visible to them now.
Sources
- SECO, The labour market situation in September 2026: unemployment rate and unemployed by canton (PDF, tables 9 and 10, in French)
- FSO, Swiss Earnings Structure Survey 2024: median gross monthly wage by major region
- FSO, Business census STATENT 2024: jobs by canton
- RAV Obwalden Nidwalden (Hergiswil), the canton’s public employment service
- SECO, job vacancy notification requirement: 2026 list of occupation types
- SECO, Job-Room: official platform of the public employment service