Partial unemployment in Luxembourg: more than 5,800 employees could be affected in March 2025
Ahmet Kurt, Unsplash
The Luxembourg Conjecture Committee held a meeting on 25 February 2025, chaired by Lex Delles, Minister of Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, and Georges Mischo, Minister of Labour. The main topic of discussion was the partial unemployment forecasts for March 2025.
In March 2025, the number of applications for partial unemployment increased by 5 units compared to the previous month, with a total of 74 companies filing applications. After careful analysis, the Conjuncture Committee approved 63 applications, which include:
- 49 applications for opportunistic reasons related to the economic situation;
- 9 applications for structural reasons involving job retention plans;
- 5 applications are related to economic dependence.
According to preliminary data, 5,886 employees (full-time equivalents, ETP) could go on partial unemployment in March 2025. This is down from February, when 6,624 employees were at risk of reduced hours. However, these data are forecasts and do not reflect the actual situation on the labour market, as companies may not use the approved measure in full.
To more accurately assess the impact of partial unemployment, the Committee also analysed data for November 2024. Of the 67 pre-approvals approved in October 2024, 43 companies actually benefited from partial unemployment.
- 2,646 employees actually moved to part-time work (equivalent to 552 ETP), a significant increase from October (1,796 employees and 370 ETP).
- The total number of hours of partial unemployment was 95,516 hours, an increase of 31,470 hours over October.
- The Employment Fund spent €1,851,046 on partial unemployment costs in November, €539,298 more than in October.
The Conjuncture Committee also approved:
- Early retirement (pre-retirement) programmes for 52 employees, including the state's financial participation in these programmes.
- 4 applications for tax relief under L.I.R. 115 (10) for 28 employees for severance and redundancy.
Partial unemployment in Luxembourg remains a relevant support measure for companies affected by economic and structural changes. Despite the reduction in the number of affected employees in March 2025, the situation remains precarious, which requires constant monitoring and support from the state.
