Luxembourg boasts one of EU's strongest job markets

The Grand Duchy boasted the EU's second-highest acceleration in the size of its workforce at the start of this year, data published on Tuesday showed.

The country's employment market increased by 0.9% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the last three months of last year, Luxembourg statistics agency Statec said.  The country's expanding employment landscape trailed only Greece in its growth rate, EU statistics agency Eurostat said.   

Cross-border workers outstripped the number of Luxembourg residents getting hired, Statec said. 

Last year, the number of people in employment in Luxembourg grew by 3.6%, a rate driven by adding non-EU and cross-border workers. Those working beyond the official retirement age of 65 also doubled in number over the last decade.

With employers struggling to fill vacancies, the number of available jobs listed with Luxembourg's unemployment agency hit a record high with more than 13,250 posts advertised at the end of May.    

Jobs in Luxembourg's support services, trade, transport, accommodation and catering activities showed the largest growth in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2021, Statec said.

Across the EU, food preparation workers showed the greatest increase in hiring at 25% and their numbers jumped from almost 1.1 million to almost 1.4 million people, Luxembourg-based  Eurostat said.

 Nearly three out of four people in Europe's working-age population between 20 and 64 held jobs, Eurostat said.   

The Luxembourg Times has a new mobile app, download here! Get the Luxembourg Times delivered to your inbox twice a day. Sign up for your free newsletters here.