Gruy�res has always been a rural town. Agricultural products from the surroundings were processed and brought to the market here. Formerly, the focus was on trading cheese and small and big animals. There were several mills and sawmills and since 18th century a gun powder factory. Until the beginning of the 20th century, straw-twisting was also rather important.
Agriculture is still specialized in milk production and cattle-breeding. It delivers raw materials for the cheese production and meat treating. Most important is the famous Gruy�re cheese. Forestry is also a factor, but tillage is less applied. In secondary sector, there are cabinetmaking, precision mechanics and craft works. Services has a lot of jobs to offer in gastronomics and hotels. The villages of Epagny and Pringy have in the last years become a living place for commuters, mostly working in the town of Bulle.
As of 2010, Gruy�res had an unemployment rate of 2.5%. As of 2008, there were 59 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 19 businesses involved in this sector. 229 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 27 businesses in this sector. 447 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 69 businesses in this sector. There were 757 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.8% of the workforce.
In 2008 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 601. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 44, of which 39 were in agriculture and 5 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 215 of which 120 or (55.8%) were in manufacturing and 95 (44.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 342. In the tertiary sector; 62 or 18.1% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 33 or 9.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 131 or 38.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 3 or 0.9% were
