The number of unemployed Luxembourg residents registered with Adem, the national employment agency, rose to 17,733 in September, up by 117 since the previous month and up by 1,168 since September 2023.
The number of jobseekers who have been out of work for four months or longer rose across all sectors of the economy, though once again led by construction. Other sectors with relatively high numbers of jobseekers include road transport, industry, accounting, IT and banking.
People in the 30-44 age bracket are the worst affected, as are people with higher education qualifications.
Luxembourg’s unemployment rate stood at 5.8% at the end of September, which is unchanged since August. The 5% mark was breached in May 2023 and the unemployment rate has been above 5.5% throughout 2024.
After successive months where the number of new jobs advertised through Adem declined, September saw 3,110 new jobs, up just one from September 2023.
The country’s growing population is the reason the number of jobseekers can grow month-on-month without affecting the unemployment rate.
Statec this autumn adjusted its economic forecast and announced Luxembourg is likely to see higher unemployment and lower economic growth next year than previously expected. The unemployment rate is likely to rise to 6% next year, before falling back to 5.6% in the period from 2026-2028, Statec said.