Luxembourg's labour market in April 2025: unemployment rises, but new vacancies are fewer
Evangeline Shaw, Unsplash
According to the latest ADEM (Employment Development Agency) report, as of 30 April 2025, there are 18,596 unemployed residents in Luxembourg, 1,000 more than in April 2024. This corresponds to an increase of 5.7 per cent over the year, and it is particularly worrying that the increase has affected the most vulnerable and skilled categories of the population.
The strongest increase was in numbers:
- long-term unemployed (12 months or more),
- people over the age of 45,
- highly qualified specialists with university degrees.
By occupation, the largest increase in unemployment is among accountants and lorry drivers - ROME categories M12 and N41 respectively.
According to seasonally adjusted STATEC calculations, the country's unemployment rate rose to 6.0%, recording another step upwards in the general trend of recent months.
Interestingly, the number of new applications from job seekers has decreased: 2,379 new applicants registered with ADEM in April 2025, which is 6.2 per cent less than a year ago. This may indicate either a decline in activity or exhaustion of resources in the labour market.
The number of open positions is also declining. Employers submitted 3,577 new offers during the month, up 6.3 per cent from April 2024. However, the total pool of open positions by the end of the month was only 7,200 positions - down 10 per cent from last year. This suggests a slowdown in hiring and possible business caution in the current economic climate.
Nevertheless, there is a revival in the catering industry - especially in the kitchen staff segment (G16 category).
The number of recipients of full unemployment benefit decreased slightly: 10,162 people, 25 less than a year ago. The number of participants in employment programmes also remained unchanged: 4,556, the level remained stable.
