The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 6.2% in May to 6.4% in June, a level unseen since January 2021.
The rise in unemployment is particularly marked among qualified jobseekers (+19.1% year on year) and the 30-44 age group (+12.8%).
At the same time, employers reported more vacancies to Adem, with 3,167 new job offers in June, a 7.2% increase year on year.
Luxembourg's labour market is going through a contrasted period. On one hand, the number of jobseekers keeps growing, particularly among the most qualified profiles. On the other, companies are announcing more vacant positions, a signal that might otherwise suggest a more favourable hiring dynamic. This situation, described as paradoxical by Adem, calls for a nuanced reading of labour market trends in Luxembourg.
According to figures published on 20 July by Statec and Adem, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 6.4% in June 2026, up from 6.2% the previous month. This is the highest level recorded since January 2021 in Statec's monthly series. At the end of June, Adem counted 19,619 registered resident jobseekers available for work, 1,733 more than a year earlier, representing a 9.7% year-on-year increase, compared with 6.5% in May.
This rise in unemployment affected all age groups, but was particularly pronounced among the most qualified jobseekers. "The year-on-year increase was particularly marked among the most highly qualified jobseekers," Adem stated in its update of 20 July, noting that their numbers jumped by 19.1% year on year. People aged 30 to 44 recorded the sharpest increase by age group, at 12.8%, while jobs in secretarial and administrative work, IT, accounting and management, and the banking sector were among the fields most affected by this rise in registrations.
Another notable indicator: the number of residents receiving full unemployment benefits fell by 4.5% year on year, to 9,904 people in June. This figure, however, covers a different group from that of registered available jobseekers, and data for the last three months remains subject to revision once benefit entitlements are validated retroactively.
In addition, 1,573 more residents undergoing occupational retraining received a waiting allowance or occupational waiting allowance, a 2.5% increase compared with June 2025. The number of residents taking part in employment support programmes also rose, by 3.4%, to reach 4,605 people. Including both residents and non-residents, 10,961 people received full unemployment benefits in June, a 4.7% year-on-year decrease, with residents accounting for 90.4% of these recipients.
Paradoxically, this deterioration in the labour market is accompanied by a simultaneous rise in available job offers. Employers reported 3,167 vacancies to Adem in June, 7.2% more than in June 2025. The stock of available positions at the end of the month also increased, by 3.1%, reaching 7,081 positions. The sharpest increases were seen in design and planning in the construction sector, industrial cleaning, social and socio-educational work, and paramedical care, sectors often distinct from those where jobseeker registrations are rising most strongly, namely secretarial work, IT, accounting and banking.
This situation illustrates a possible mismatch between the skills employers are looking for and those of available jobseekers on the Luxembourg market. It also confirms a trend already observed in May, when the number of job offers was rising compared with the previous year, even though the number of available positions had then declined, unlike the situation in June, where both indicators are now trending upward.
The number of non-resident jobseekers available for work rose much faster than that of residents, up 25.2% year on year to reach 4,144 people at the end of June. New registrations from non-residents also increased, by 15.8%, to reach 784, representing 24% of all registrations for the month.
Among these non-resident jobseekers, 2,421 were undergoing external occupational retraining, an increase of 9.7% year on year, representing 58.4% of the total non-resident jobseekers. These individuals are subject to the same eligibility conditions for Adem's financial support as residents. Adem also notes that "the other non-resident jobseekers registered with Adem did so voluntarily, without being entitled to any financial assistance," a group whose numbers jumped by 55.9% to reach 1,723 people, or 41.6% of all available non-resident jobseekers.
The figures published by Statec and Adem for June 2026 reveal a Luxembourg labour market shaped by conflicting dynamics. The continued rise in unemployment, driven notably by qualified profiles and non-residents, coexists with an increase in vacancies that is not enough to absorb all available jobseekers. This rise in the unemployment rate, its highest in more than five years, calls on HR professionals and economic decision-makers in the Grand Duchy to closely monitor upcoming Statec and Adem publications, in order to better anticipate hiring needs and the adjustments the labour market requires.
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