It is a truth universally acknowledged that expats move to Luxembourg for either love or money. Few and far between are those who choose the grand duchy for its picturesque towns, nature, history and people… although many discover the country’s charm as they settle in and, for some, their sojourn becomes much longer than they had originally planned.
Luxembourg’s job market attracts more than 200,000 people commuting into the country every day from the greater region. Out of the roughly 246,000 resident workers, nearly half are non-nationals. Given the high proportion of Luxembourgers who work in the public service, this leaves the private sector dominated by foreigners and the country reliant on this external influx of employees. Luxembourg offers attractive salaries--by far the highest minimum wage in the EU--coupled with competitive leave policies, strong workers’ rights representation and a finely woven social safety net.
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And yet, as the cost of living--and especially housing--has grown over the years, the number of people has risen from one in 10 in 2017 to one in five in 2021, according to data published by the Chamber of Employees in June 2022. Elsewhere in the survey, the rate of people who said they are ‘very dissatisfied’ with their job rose from 11% in 2019 to 17% last year. That still left 49% ‘very satisfied’ and 34% ‘satisfied’. However, a quarter of employees said they are .
The World Competitiveness Yearbook, an annual ranking of 63 countries by the Swiss Institute for Management Development, listed as one of Luxembourg’s key challenges. In the June 2022 edition, the grand duchy ranked 13th, down from 12th place the year before and its peak 6th position in 2015.
As Luxembourg competes in a European and increasingly global job market, labour minister (LSAP) has placed at the top of his to-do list for the rest of his mandate, and discussions around reducing working hours and creating more flexible work environments are set to feature high on the agenda of next year’s election in a bid to keep the country attractive for jobseekers. But it is also up to the individual to make their Luxembourg stay a success, connecting with an international community, learning to navigate local laws and rights, and seizing the opportunities offered by a small and open environment.