Switzerland's employment continued to increase in the second quarter despite a fall in the secondary sector, the Federal Statistical Office said Thursday.

The number of employed increased to 4.166 million from 4.152 million in the previous quarter. The decline in the secondary sector was offset by a sharp improvement in the tertiary sector.

Data showed that employment in secondary sector dropped by 0.4 percent, while that in tertiary gained 2.3 percent.

However, the employment outlook indicator and difficulty in recruiting personnel fell compared with the same quarter of the previous year, it said.