Bernruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Federal administration & public sector
The federal departments, the Federal Chancellery, the federal courts' Bern offices, the City and Canton of Bern
The reason the city exists in its modern form. Most posts are open to foreign nationals — art. 23 BPV restricts only enumerated sovereign functions, and the vacancy notice has to say when it applies.
International organisations & diplomacy
Universal Postal Union, the diplomatic missions accredited to Switzerland
The UPU has been headquartered in Bern since 1874 and is the second-oldest international organisation in the world, with 192 member countries. Its international staff hold FDFA legitimation cards rather than ordinary permits — the same two-track system as Geneva, at a much smaller scale.
Telecoms, post & rail
Swisscom, Swiss Post, SBB, BKW
The big federally-linked infrastructure companies are run from Bern rather than Zurich, which gives the city a large, stable engineering and IT employment base that has nothing to do with government.
Insurance & pensions
Die Mobiliar, Swiss pension and social-insurance institutions
Bern is an insurance town as well as a government one. Die Mobiliar, Switzerland's oldest private insurer, is headquartered here.
Medtech, pharma & health
CSL Behring, Ypsomed, the Insel Gruppe and Inselspital, sitem-insel
The Inselspital is one of Switzerland's five university hospitals, and the medtech cluster around it and Burgdorf is the canton's main private-sector research employer.
Education & research
University of Bern, Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), the Insel research campus
The University of Bern is strong in climate science, space research and medicine, and its research groups are among the few Bern employers that hire internationally at scale outside the federal orbit.
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