The evolution of 'working poverty' during the COVID pandemic: A Swiss case study

This article examines the evolution of working poverty in Switzerland during the Covid-19 pandemic using detailed administrative register data, linked with survey data collected from over 200,000 people. Switzerland represents a distinctive case, as containment measures were comparatively short and less restrictive, while extensive policy support—most notably short-time work schemes with an 80 per cent replacement rate—helped stabilise labour incomes. Consistent with this institutional context, results show that working poverty did not increase during the pandemic; rather, all three indicators used in this study point to a modest decline in 2020. This pattern mirrors earlier findings from the Great Recession, suggesting that when downturns are neither deep nor prolonged, absolute and relative poverty indicators tend to converge. The analysis further highlights heterogeneous effects across worker groups. Solo self-employed workers and domestic workers recorded no rise in working poverty, reflecting the protective role of targeted business support measures, although undeclared domestic workers remain outside the scope of the data. Essential workers experienced declining poverty risks in 2020 but a rebound in 2021 despite improving macroeconomic conditions, pointing to possible delayed effects of heightened work strain and health risks. By contrast, workers with high teleworkability were largely shielded from working poverty. The findings underline the importance of crisis-specific income stabilisation policies and raise broader questions about extending social protection to solo self-employed workers in future downturns.