Jobseeker portrait, Nasa visit, vacation spending

Charles Baudoin is the latest young jobseeker featured in a series organised by Paperjam and Adem, the jobs agency. He is looking for a post as art director, creative director, or a position in a creative, communication or design department. The 32 year old has worked in a design studio, architecture firm and art gallery. Baudoin speaks French, English and Spanish, and a bit of Luxembourgish.
The third day of a space mining trade mission to America’s west coast took place in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. The delegation, led by Crown Prince Guillaume and Luxembourg’s deputy prime minister, Étienne Schneider, toured Nasa’s Ames Research Center, which develops lower cost space exploration technologies, among other activities. That was followed by a reception hosted by Luxembourg officials.
The Council of State has criticised the “steady and substantial increase over the past few decades” in the number of new staff positions created in the country’s judicial system. The council was commenting on Bill 7108, which would authorise the hiring of 32 new magistrates and 16 other officials between 2017 and 2020. Since 1999, 125 new jobs have already been added, including those in the country’s court clerk, public prosecutor and legal aid offices. Despite the rise in Luxembourg’s population, economic growth and increased cross-border commuters, the council said [PDF] that “the number of magistrates is very high when compared to other European countries.” The Council of State is the country’s quasi-upper legislative body.
Turnover at the grand duchy’s utility regulator declined 1.6% between 2015 and 2016, to €37.1m, mainly due to lower sales (and thus levies) in the electricity and telecom sectors. At the same time, the Luxembourg Regulatory Institute (Institut luxembourgeois de regulation) reduced expenditures by roughly 10%, to €8.1m, partly due to reduced consultancy fees. The ILR regulates the telecoms, electricity, postal and postal banking, natural gas, railway and airport usage markets. As of 31 December 2016, it employed 55 staff, down from 58 at the end of the previous year.
Luxembourg residents have the biggest vacation budget in Europe, according to a new study published by Statec. The annual average of €2,814 per person easily outstrips the figures for the country’s neighbours: €1,827 for the French, €1,669 for the Germans and €1,327 for the Belgians. Luxembourg residents, on average, take a week’s holiday four times a year.