The Statec employment review published on 1 October found employment in these areas grew 5.6% and 3.2% respectively. “All other branches show negative quarterly growth,” the report author wrote.

There was a 3% decline in the number of people employed in specialised activities and support services, in which there was strong decrease in the number of employees at temping agencies (-35.9%). “These activities are the first to suffer when an economic crisis appears. Activities involving sales, transport, hotel accommodation and restaurants equally suffered during the lockdown (-2.4%).”

These latter sectors reduced headcount by around 2,000 people from February to May, according to the September 2020 Conjoncture Flash.

Cross-border workers were among those joining the dole queue, with their numbers falling 1% in the second quarter.

Over a year, the number of new jobs created among residents grew just 1.4%, while for cross-border workers it was 1.2%. Historically, growth was always higher among cross-border workers, the report explains.

Rebounding market

Luxembourg’s labour market looks set to rebound based on findings published in Statec’s September 2020 Conjoncture Flash. Unemployment in Luxembourg reached 6.4% in August and rose 2% from August 2019 to 2020.

However, the report highlights more “redundancy plans are being announced and the latest figures on unemployment flows indicate a much higher number of new unemployment claims in August.”

Partial unemployment benefits paid to employers who have more staff than work thanks to the pandemic remains high at 20,000 beneficiaries in October, equivalent to 5% of paid employment in the country.

Furthermore, the report found that job prospects are recovering slowly in all sectors since they hit an all-time low in April.