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.

Did you know that assistance is available to companies to promote the employment of older people in Luxembourg?

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 its residents.

The workforce numbered 508,013 employees in January 2024, including more than 226,000 cross-border workers.

At the same time, 58% of the workforce was male and 42% female. Only 26% of employees are Luxembourg nationals.

Attracted by the career prospects and quality of life in Luxembourg, many foreign executives find employment in Luxembourg and immigrate to the country. Forty-one percent of working residents are foreign nationals from the EU. Foreign workers from outside the EU represent 10% of the working population.

Multilingualism is a reality in the Luxembourg professional world.

English is increasingly becoming a major language in professional exchanges, particularly in European institutions, the financial sector, and industry. French is used more in shops, restaurants, and hotels.

Learning new languages is widely encouraged, as is continuing education.

The international character of the workforce enriches exchanges within and between companies. Above all, it is an asset for the dynamism of the economy and its openness to the outside world.

Find out more about the population of Luxembourg.

The importance of cross-border workers in the working population

Cross-border workers are also attracted by the job opportunities and pay conditions offered by Luxembourg.

The number of cross-border workers has been steadily increasing over the last few decades. The city of Luxembourg, the center of economic activity, sees its population double on working days.

The 226,000 cross-border workers in Luxembourg represent 47% of the working population. Of these cross-border workers, 54% come from France, 23.2% from Germany, and 22.6% from Belgium. Some studies conducted before Covid predicted a population of 600,000 cross-border workers by 2060.

The 200,000 cross-border worker mark was exceeded for the first time in April 2019. This has also led to traffic problems on motorways during rush hour. Bilateral teleworking agreements are constantly being discussed between the countries of the Greater Region to enable cross-border workers to work from home.

The coronavirus crisis has highlighted Luxembourg's dependence on cross-border workers. This is particularly the case in the hospital sector, large-scale distribution, and other priority sectors. These sectors were heavily relied upon during the lockdown period. The hospitality industry also employs a large number of cross-border workers.

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: +1.8% average annual increase between 2014 and 2024 for job seekers aged 55 to 59 and +7.6% for those aged 60 and over. In order to promote the employability of seniors, the government is implementing concrete measures.

For an informed perspective on economic and social dynamics, discover how expatriates view their life in Luxembourg. Why move to Luxembourg? Advantages and disadvantages.

A diverse job market in Luxembourg

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From agriculture to steel

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, with the oil crisis of 1973 and the ensuing economic downturn, Luxembourg's economy turned to services and the development of the tertiary sector.

Reflecting this transformation, the blast furnaces of Belval, remnants of the past, blend perfectly into the new urban landscape.

Financial center and leading European investment fund hub

Luxembourg has become an international financial center and is now Europe's leading investment fund center. It is home to a large and competitive private banking, wealth management, investment fund, and insurance/reinsurance sector.

Diversification into cutting-edge technologies

For several years now, the Luxembourg government has been aiming for economic diversification.
It encourages the development of sectors such as communication and information technologies, logistics, e-commerce, and biotechnology.

It also promotes research and development through the University of Luxembourg and internationally renowned research institutes. It invests heavily in space and has made start-ups the spearhead of its economy. Luxembourg defines itself as a "start-up nation."

In fact, the service, information, and communication sectors have seen the strongest growth in hiring in recent years. Accounting, temporary work, and computer programming continue to recruit regularly.

According to the latest statistics available to us at the end of the third quarter of 2023, the economic sectors employing the most people are, in order:

• 22.1% trade/transport/accommodation/catering
• 21.7% administration and public services
• 17% specialized activities and support services
• 11.5% financial and insurance activities
• 10.5% construction, a sector that has been struggling since 2023
• 8.0% manufacturing
• 4.4% information and communication
• 4.8% other activities

See the latest trends in recruitment and salary levels.

Employment in different sectors

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.

Find out more about employment in Luxembourg.