Labor market and labor force
Characteristics of the Luxembourg labor market
Seeking work-life balance
Today in Luxembourg, more and more employees are seeking a better balance between their professional and private lives.
More than 75% of employees want to give their careers a new boost and say they are open to new opportunities on the job market. Conversely, before Covid, nearly 60% of employees planned to stay in their jobs for five years or more.
It must be said that after 2020, the job market has changed.
Are you the spouse of an expat and want to find a better work-life balance? Check out this article.
Integration of teleworking in companies
Teleworking is now fully integrated into Luxembourg companies (35%), offering employees a better work-life balance, especially for cross-border workers who face long traffic jams on the roads.
While many employees have now become accustomed to remote working, more and more Luxembourg employers are gradually advocating a return to the office, following the example of Amazon, which has called its employees back to its premises.
Left to the discretion of companies, teleworking nevertheless constitutes a benefit in kind for employees today.
In a changing labor market, will we move towards the integration of teleworking as a norm in companies? The Chamber of Employees is not really in favor of this at present. However, there is talk of allowing a maximum of one or two days of teleworking per week.
See working hours and statutory leave in Luxembourg.
A very active labor market in Luxembourg
The Luxembourg labor market is very active and resilient to crises. Although the mandatory Covid lockdown led to a 33.6% increase in unemployment during that period, the return to work went smoothly. Companies were able to adapt, and the government took the appropriate measures to manage the crisis without jeopardizing the future.
Today, Luxembourg once again has an unemployment rate below the European average.
Unemployment rate: 6.2%
Number of job seekers: 19,907
source: ADEM - November 30, 2025
The Luxembourg job market reflects the international and dynamic environment that characterizes the country.
Individual entrepreneurs are entitled to unemployment benefits in Luxembourg.
Growing demand for increasingly technical and operational profiles
What profiles are sought after in Luxembourg? Check out the sectors that are recruiting.
Traditionally, Luxembourg has recruited particularly in its financial services such as banking, insurance, accounting, and auditing. In addition, the Covid crisis has increased companies' need for technical, IT, and operational profiles to meet the digitalization needs of work tools and processes. Luxembourg is clearly focused on innovation.
Thematic conferences are organized during the Unicareers Fair to address these issues.
On the other hand, the construction sector has been experiencing an unprecedented crisis since the end of 2022. Many construction companies have had to lay off staff or even cease operations since the end of 2023.
An international workforce
Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in the Workforce
Luxembourg is characterized by a multicultural, multilingual workforce, reflecting the diversity of its residents.
The workforce numbered 508,013 employees in January 2024, including more than 226,000 cross-border workers.
As of the same date, 58% of the workforce were men and 42% were women. Only 26% of employees hold Luxembourgish citizenship.
Attracted by Luxembourg’s career prospects and quality of life, many foreign executives find employment in Luxembourg and immigrate to the country. 41% of the working population are foreign nationals from the EU. Non-EU foreign workers account for 10% of the working population.
Multilingualism is a reality in the Luxembourg professional world.
English is increasingly emerging as a major language in professional interactions, particularly within European institutions, the financial sector, and industry. French is more commonly used in retail, restaurants, and the hospitality industry.
Learning new languages is also strongly encouraged, as is continuing education.
The international nature of the workforce enriches interactions within and between companies. Above all, it is an asset to the dynamism of the economy and its openness to the outside world.
Learn more about Luxembourg’s population.
The importance of cross-border workers in the labor force
Cross-border workers are also drawn to the job opportunities and compensation packages offered by Luxembourg.
The number of cross-border workers has, in fact, been steadily increasing over the past few decades. Luxembourg City, the center of economic activity, sees its population double on workdays.
The 226,000 cross-border workers in Luxembourg account for 47% of the workforce. These cross-border workers come from France (54%), Germany (23.2%), and Belgium (22.6%). Some studies conducted before the pandemic projected a cross-border workforce of 600,000 by 2060.
The 200,000-mark for cross-border workers was surpassed for the first time in April 2019. This has alsoled to traffic concerns on major highways during rush hour. Bilateral telework agreements are constantly under discussion among the countries of the Greater Region to allow cross-border workers to work from home.
The coronavirus crisis has highlighted Luxembourg’s dependence on cross-border workers. This is particularly true in the healthcare sector, retail, and other priority sectors. These sectors were heavily relied upon during the lockdown period. The hospitality industry also employs a significant number of cross-border workers.
The large number of cross-border workers has an impact on the latest pension figures. Read our article here.
Focus on employment by age group
To our knowledge, there are no statistics on employment by age group. However, it appears that the number of job seekers over the age of 55 is steadily increasing: an average annual increase of +1.8% between 2014 and 2024 for job seekers aged 55 to 59, and +7.6% for those aged 60 and older. To promote the employability of older workers, the government is implementing concrete measures.
For an informed perspective on economic and social dynamics, discover how expats view their lives in Luxembourg. Why move to Luxembourg? Pros and cons.
A Diverse Job Market in Luxembourg
Browse job listings from our partners.
From agriculture to steelmaking
Originally an agricultural country, Luxembourg saw the development of a powerful steel industry in the mid-20th century.
Numerous industrial sites in the mining basin in southern Luxembourg bear witness to this past, which brought prosperity and wealth to the country. Subsequently, following the 1973 oil crisis and the ensuing economic downturn, the Luxembourg economy shifted toward services and the development of the tertiary sector.
As witnesses to this transformation, the Belval blast furnaces—remnants of the past—blend seamlessly into the new urban landscape.
Financial Center and Europe’s Leading Investment Fund Hub
Having become an international financial center, Luxembourg is now Europe’s leading investment fund hub. It is home to a significant and competitive private banking, wealth management, investment fund, and insurance/reinsurance sector.
Diversification into cutting-edge technologies
For several years, the Luxembourg government has been pursuing economic diversification.
It encourages the development of sectors such as Information and Communication Technologies, logistics, e-commerce, and biotechnology.
It also promotes research and development efforts through the University of Luxembourg, as well as through internationally recognized research institutes . It invests heavily in the tech sector and positions its startups as the driving force of its economy. Luxembourg defines itself as a “startup nation.”
In fact, the service, information, and communication sectors have seen the strongest increases in hiring over the past few years. Accounting, temporary staffing, and computer programming continue to recruit regularly.
According to the latest statistics available to us as of the end of the third quarter of 2023, the economic sectors employing the most people are, in order:
- 22.1% trade/transportation/lodging/food services
- 21.7% government and public services
- 17% specialized activities and support services
- 11.5% financial and insurance activities
- 10.5% construction (this sector has been struggling since 2023)
- 8.0% manufacturing
- 4.4% information and communication
- 4.8% other activities
Employment in various sectors
Don't miss the Open Days to visit Luxembourg companies. Around thirty companies attract more than 20,000 visitors each year.
Private companies and employment in Luxembourg
Luxembourg enjoys significant social and political stability, which is conducive to development. Its AAA rating is regularly confirmed by the major rating agencies.
More and more international companies are setting up in Luxembourg, attracted by the country's dynamism. Some of the country's largest employers are major multinationals.
One of Luxembourg's characteristics is its high proportion of sole traders. According to our latest figures, the structure of businesses is as follows:
- single-person businesses: 39.0%
- 1-4 employees: 37.2%
- 5-9 employees: 10.5%
- 10 or more employees: 13.2%
The private sector employs 87% of the working population and 5.7% of the self-employed in Luxembourg.
Luxembourg public sector
The civil service employs nearly 35,000 government workers in Luxembourg. Increasingly, the Luxembourg government is opening civil service positions to candidates of non-Luxembourg nationality.
Currently, in addition to the educational and professional training requirements for each position, candidates must be nationals of a European Union member state. To apply for a position in the civil service, candidates must enjoy full civil and political rights and be proficient in the three administrative languages, namely Luxembourgish, French, and German.
European civil servants in Luxembourg
Luxembourg is one of the founding members of the European Union. As a result, the city of Luxembourg is one of the main locations for European institutions, alongside Brussels in Belgium and Strasbourg in France.
The numerous European institutions located mainly in Luxembourg-Kirchberg partly explain this constant flow of working population, in line with the movements of European civil servants.
In fact, the Kirchberg district is home to several European institutions:
- the European Court of Justice has been present in Luxembourg since 1952 and in Kirchberg since 1973,
- the European Investment Bank, opposite the European Court of Justice in a very iconic building in Kirchberg
- The Court of First Instance,
- the Court of Auditors,
- the European Public Prosecutor's Office
- the European Commission in the Jean Monnet building
- The Secretariat-General of the European Parliament is located in the Konrad Adenauer building,
- The Council of the European Union, which brings together representatives of the governments, is located in the European Convention Center.
Kirchberg is also home to the European School I, which welcomes the children of European officials.
More than 14,500 international European civil servants are based in Luxembourg.
Articles de la catégorie Employment – vocational training in Luxembourg
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Language learning for adults
Multilingualism is omnipresent in Luxembourg, whether in everyday life or at work. Whatever the situation, you can expect to speak a different language or be addressed in a language other than your mother tongue.
Working hours and statutory leave
In Luxembourg, the standard working hours are 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week for full-time employment. Everything you need to know about working in Luxembourg