The grand duchy’s government granted short-time employment support to 14,473 companies, representing 351,561 employees, as of 4 June, according to the economy ministry. The aid amounted to €780m in salary advancements.

466,757 people worked in Luxembourg, according to the latest Statec figures. That means 75.3% of the country’s workforce had their working hours reduced by some level during the covid-19 crisis.

That number was a rise from the 57% of the workforce on partial unemployment as of 28 April, and 16% as of 6 April.

The short-time working scheme lets companies reduce the number of hours employees work each week, with the government making up 80% of the shortfall in earnings.

Jobless claims

There were 20,253 workers on the regular unemployment rolls, as of 20 May. The jobless rate was 6.9%, with 31.1% more jobseekers than the same time last year.

Business support

The economy ministry also said it had doled out €122m in aid to 17,721 businesses via various support schemes, as of 3 June. These included cash grants of €2,500 to €12,500 depending on the size of the business, and emergency loans of up to €500,000.