Luxembourg's workforce

Globally united: Luxembourg's workforce

A country's workforce is one of the defining factors of its competitiveness. In Luxembourg, multiple waves of immigration, combined with lively cross-border trade, have laid the foundation to a workforce that is not only coming to Luxembourg from our three neighbouring countries, but also comprises large expat communities. Indeed, people from 170 nations are currently living and working together in Luxembourg's as a result of a continuous policy of economic diversification and openness, which has become a globally recognised hallmark of Luxembourg. The international outlook of Luxembourg's economy, ranging from its large financial sector to logistics and research, are continuing to attract skilled and less skilled jobseekers to Luxembourg from beyond the national borders.

Moreover, Luxembourg's reputation as a preferred entry point to the EU single market has served to attract many international companies to Luxembourg from different economic sectors, contributing to the already rich mix of employees available in the country. As a consequence, the country ranks among the world's best performers as far as the investment in and development of talents is concerned.

Add to this the multilingual and well-educated national workforce and you end up with a rich mix of skills, personalities and nationalities.

Thriving in uncertain times: Luxembourg's economy

Luxembourg's economy as a whole has proven its resilience time and again over the past decades, weathering global crisis without losing its Triple A status. This is in part due to the efforts at economic diversification undertaken by generations of policymakers and stakeholders, but also to a strong support for innovation and development. It is therefore not astounding that the country has the highest GDP per capita in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Finance remains the largest grossing single economic sector, contributing 31% to the country's GDP. This sector is building upon well-established infrastructures, a multinational expert workforce as well as Luxembourg's reputation as a European hub. Other sectors are cashing in on the same advantages though, attracting talents from all over the world, i.e. logistics and the automotive sector, but also the audiovisual sector, the digital economy, lifetech, fintech and space technologies, which have benefited from government-sponsored initiatives in their respective fields to make headlines worldwide.

Quality of life

If work-related opportunities are often the primary motivation for talents to move to Luxembourg, numerous other factors that create a healthy work-life balance contribute to the attraction and retention of talents in the country:

• Affordable healthcare: social security benefits are largely reimbursed by the National Health Fund;
• Free childcare: every child below the age of 4 has a guaranteed childcare spot;
• A rich offer of leisure activities: Luxembourg is a small country with a varied offer ranging from sports to culture, from privately organised events;
• Intact natural spaces and rural areas: the nearest recreational area is always just a stone's throw away;
• A choice of education institutions: the free public school system and a choice of private schools offer many options when it comes to choosing your child's future;
• International communities: expat communities are well-established and connected;
• Multilingual society: Speaking more than one language is a value at the core of the Luxembourgish society, which creates many openings for new arrivals to participate actively in their work environment and in society;
• Friendly locals: whether it's in your neighbourhood or in local societies, meeting the locals is easy.

And finally, the elephant in the room:

• Manageable cost of living: yes, real estate is expensive in Luxembourg, and cost of living prices are higher than in the neighbouring countries, but wages are accordingly and taxes as well as social charges are lower, which keeps Luxembourg well out of the top10 of the most expensive cities in all international benchmarks. And did you know that there is even a special tax regimen for expats?

Social Model

Luxembourg rarely makes headlines with industrial actions. This is due to an efficient tripartisan consensual system called the Tripartite. This model brings together representatives from trade unions, employers and the government in order to discuss challenges to economic growth as a whole or to a single economic sector. In their talks, these representatives are supported by a number of institutions which provide data and sectorial reports that are the basis of discussions.

Even if these negotiations are usually far from easy, they end with a consensus that all parties are able to live with in the interest of the common good. As a result, Luxembourg is prone to far fewer industrial actions than its neighbours.

So, what will your reason be to come to Luxembourg?