Luxembourg is facing a significant shortage of suitable candidates in 24 specific job segments, such as banking, auditing, engineering, and education, according to the national job agency Adem.
This comes despite the increasing unemployment rate.
The report designated these job profiles on its official shortage list, allowing companies to expedite the hiring process for non-EU nationals.
Previous sought-after roles
In 2023, sought-after job titles and roles included credit and risk analysts, front office workers, and customer management staff in banking, along with roofers, engineers, care workers, nurses, psychologists, educators, auditors, and accountants, among others.
A job profile was deemed in high demand if, on average, seven vacancies were registered with Adem monthly over one year, and if fewer than between 10% and 25% of job offers remained unfilled.
Adem reported that IT workers were in high demand last year, although international IT workers expressed feeling excluded from the job market due to a lack of French proficiency.
Luxembourg has struggled to attract highly skilled staff for years, mainly due to the country’s high cost of living, particularly its expensive housing.
Adem’s findings contrasts with the rising unemployment trend in the country, with the unemployment rate reaching 5.6% in February, albeit with fewer job seekers compared to January.
Growth in Luxembourg’s labor market slowed in 2023, with the economy experiencing a rare recession, notably affecting the construction sector, according to the national statistics office Statec.
Despite a 2.2% increase in employment overall last year, down from 3.4% growth in 2022, the construction sector saw a decline of 0.9% in jobs between 2022 and 2023, following a 2.7% growth from 2021 to 2022.
