Greater Geneva –
New record for border permits issued by the canton in 2024
Geneva recorded nearly 25,000 new cross-border workers in 2024, a figure not seen since statistics began in 1989.
Published today at 6:22 p.m.
The ballet of cross-border workers early in the morning at Soral customs.
LAURENT GUIRAUD/TAMEDIA
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With 24,835 new cross-border workers, Geneva crossed the threshold of 20,000 registered workers in 2024 for the third consecutive year, according to figures published this Monday by the Cantonal Statistics Office (Ocstat).
The census shows that six out of ten new cross-border workers are men, and that 61% belong to the age group of 20 to 34.
Two thirds of G permit holders live in Haute-Savoie, while 19% reside in Ain. The others travel from more distant French departments (14%, including 132 Parisians) or to other countries (1%).
A growing distance
The most recent data indicates, as a recent INSEE studyan evolution of cross-border mobility. A growing share of cross-border commuters coming from more distant regions. In 2008, 70% of new cross-border workers lived in Haute-Savoie and 21% in Ain.
-Furthermore, 600 of the new G permit holders announced in 2024 are former foreign residents of the canton of Geneva, having mainly moved to neighboring France.
As a reminder, the G permit is granted to foreign workers who maintain their main residence outside Switzerland. Swiss people living abroad or international civil servants are not included in these statistics.
Catering and health
The sectors employing the most new cross-border workers in 2024 include catering (1,917 people), health and social work (1,891), retail (1,635) and construction (1,258).
Employment agencies regularly turn to this workforce. They recruited 5,404 cross-border workers last year. But Ocstat does not know the exact sectors of activity for which they were hired.
These latest figures come from the register of inhabitants managed by the Cantonal Population and Migration Office (OCPM). However, the precise number of active cross-border workers at the end of the year, estimated at 112,100 people in September 2024, will be known on February 18.
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