Appenzell Ausserrhoden

Appenzell Ausserrhoden is a hilly, rural canton south of St. Gallen with 57,221 residents, 28,993 jobs and 4,615 enterprises. GDP was CHF 3.7 billion in 2022, or CHF 67,341 per head. Employment rose by 4.0% in 2024, the fastest growth of the 26 cantons, and unemployment was 1.6% in August 2026, about half the Swiss rate of 3.0%.

Health and social care dominate the labour market. The sector provides 26.2% of all jobs, the highest share of any canton, after employment grew by 26.3% between 2019 and 2024; the canton is home to numerous clinics and care homes as well as the cantonal hospital group. Manufacturing has a distinctive textile heritage: textiles, wood, paper and printing account for 5.2% of jobs, 4.1 times the Swiss share and the highest concentration in Switzerland, even after a decline of 16.1% in five years. Sefar in Heiden makes precision fabrics for filtration and screen printing, and SENFA CILANDER in Herisau finishes technical textiles. The connectivity specialist Huber+Suhner is headquartered in Herisau, and electronics, instruments and watches (1.5 times the Swiss share) and agriculture (2.0 times) are above average.

KPMG puts the maximum effective corporate tax rate at 13.04% for 2026 and the top income tax rate at 30.74%. In ValIndex's ownership study, 59.4% of Ausserrhoden GmbHs belong to a single person, the sixth-highest share of any canton, although the sample is small.