The consultancy firm EY attests that the GZA and its partners in the member cantons have made a positive contribution to the qualitative and sustainable development of the Zurich economic area. This was concluded in EY’s third analysis on activity at GZA between 2018 and 2021.
According to this analysis and the GZA press release, GZA location marketing helped 445 companies from abroad establish themselves in the Greater Zurich Area during the specified period. They created 2,014 new jobs. Looking at the whole previously analyzed period, 9,426 new jobs have been directly created since 2009. Through the use of multipliers, EY estimates that several tens of thousands of jobs were created indirectly.
EY rates the settlement result as “very sustainable”: the survival rate for companies attracted directly is significantly higher than the average of all companies established in Switzerland.
New companies settling have boosted tax revenues for the Greater Zurich Area economy by 57 million francs between 2019 and 2021. Between 2009 and 2021, EY calculates tax revenues of around 647 million francs, versus overall costs of 89 million francs. This means every Swiss franc invested will generate additional tax revenue of 7.3 francs.
GZA’s proactive and cross-cantonal location marketing has a “positive effect on the development of our shared greater economic area of Zurich,” said Carmen Walker Späh, GZA Foundation Board President and Head of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Canton of Zurich. This is “extremely pleasing” since international competition for top companies and talent has been strong for many years now.
