Government Reports Drop in Unemployment Costs From February to March

On Wednesday 24 June 2026, Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy reported on the meeting of the Economic Committee, which took place under the chairmanship of the Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, and the Minister of Labour, Marc Spautz.

According to the ministry, during the meeting, the Economic Committee first analysed the national economic situation and labour market conditions for May 2026.

The Economic Committee then examined advance applications for short-time working for July 2026. The number of applications submitted decreased by seven compared with the previous month. In total, 51 companies submitted an advance application for short-time working support in order to benefit from this measure during the aforementioned month. The final decision regarding the allocation of this support rests with the Government Council (Cabinet).

Following an assessment of the applications submitted, the Economic Committee issued favourable opinions on 48 applications. Of these applications, 34 were related to economic factors, nine were related to structural factors, meaning they were linked to an employment retention plan, and five applications were justified by economic dependency. The number of employees concerned amounted to 1,925 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs, compared with 2,776 in the previous month.

The ministry noted that these figures are indicative and relate to the forecast number of employees affected. They therefore do not represent a concrete indicator of the economic situation. For this reason, the Economic Committee also reports the number of employees who actually benefited from the measure. This assessment can be carried out three months after the advance applications are submitted. Once an advance application has received a favourable opinion, companies have two months to submit a statement of the hours actually not worked to ADEM.

Regarding short-time working applications for March 2026, which received opinions during the committee meeting of February 2026, of the 46 advance applications that received favourable opinions, 30 companies actually made use of the short-time working scheme. Seven cases remain under review at present, bringing the number of settled cases to 23.

In total, from these 23 statements, of the 1,280 beneficiaries forecast for March 2026, 694 employees actually worked reduced hours, compared with 792 employees in the previous month. In terms of FTEs, 166 FTEs actually worked reduced hours, compared with 160 FTEs in the previous month.

The actual reduced working hours declared for March 2026 amounted to 28,722, compared with 27,604 in the previous month.

The cost to the Employment Fund for March 2026 amounted to €563,179, compared with €581,605 for February 2026.

The Economic Committee subsequently issued a favourable opinion in relation to the legal provisions governing adjustment pre-retirement schemes concerning one employee. The Committee proposed a participation rate for the cost of the pre-retirement scheme.

Moreover, the Economic Committee issued a favourable opinion regarding one application for tax exemption of dismissal and departure compensation pursuant to Article 115(10) L.I.R., concerning one employee.

The next meeting of the Economic Committee will take place on Tuesday 21 July 2026 at 09:00.