There were 3,624 applications for business permits in the craft sector in 2020 compared to 3,507 in 2019 Shutterstock

There were 3,624 applications for business permits in the craft sector in 2020 compared to 3,507 in 2019 Shutterstock

The number of overall applications for business permits decreased slightly in 2020, but the trade sector bucked the trend.

According to the ministry for small and medium-sized enterprises,, there were 11,245 applications in 2020, compared to 12,014 the year before.

Of the total received, 7,131 were for activities in the retail and trade sector (compared to 7,905 in 2019), 3,624 were for the craft sector (compared to 3,507 in 2019) and 490 in the liberal professions (down from 602 in 2019).

There was, meanwhile, a 9.9% decline in the number of certificates Luxembourg authorities issued to cross-border crafts businesses (4,663 in 2020, compared to 5,175 in 2019).

The ministry credited the decline to a travel restrictions and border controls by French, Belgian and German authorities in relation to the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic.