Luxembourg’s economy has reached a decisive crossroads. To offset the impact of its aging population, the country will need to fill 335,000 jobs over the next 15 years. According to the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, the only way to meet that target is clear: significantly increase international recruitment and retain the staff we have.
This week, the Chamber published Talent 4 Luxembourg, a 44-page roadmap outlining how to achieve that goal.
A Mounting Demographic Challenge
In the coming years, Luxembourg’s ageing population and low birth rate will reduce the working-age population, placing downward pressure on economic output. The European Commission’s 2024 Ageing Report projects that Luxembourg will carry the heaviest pension burden in the EU by 2070.
A national pension reform is already underway. But, the Chamber argues, it will not be enough. Sustaining economic competitiveness will require continuously attracting talent from abroad.
A Six-Pillar Talent Strategy
To support employers facing this shift, the roadmap lays out 34 recommendations across six strategic areas:
- Auditing the current talent pool;
- Positioning Luxembourg as a Talent Hub;
- Reducing administrative hurdles for international recruitment
- Easing the integration of new arrivals and their families;
- Leveraging intergenerational skills and experience;
- Expanding skills through training, for example in defence and AI.
“It is urgent that we act in a concerted way to rapidly and efficiently implement a national talent strategy, which is concrete and ambitious,” said Karin Scholtes, president of the Chamber’s Talent Working Group. “Focusing on AI is a major opportunity to increase productivity and simplify the recruitment process.”
Language policy emerges as a key theme. The Chamber recommends elevating English to the status of an official language while maintaining Luxembourgish as the language of integration, arguing it would better support newcomers and ease employment pathways. Retention, both of long-term residents and new arrivals, features prominently throughout the report.
Concrete Measures Launching in 2026
The roadmap includes two initiatives scheduled to begin in 2026.
- A Spouse Programme, designed to support and integrate trailing spouses into the labour market.
- A Talent Desk, a one-stop shop to help employers recruit and help new employees integrate into the country.
Scholtes emphasized that collaboration with employers will be essential to meeting the target of filling 335,000 jobs by 2040, 180,000 to replace retirees and 155,000 newly created roles.
The report does not specify where these new roles will be created or how, noting that technological disruption complicates forecasting, particularly as AI is expected to reduce certain job categories. “Without being able to precisely predict which profiles will be needed in future… a pragmatic approach is needed to attract talent while focusing on broad categories of qualified candidates whose skills will evolve with lifelong learning,” the report states.
The Chamber also highlights existing measures targeting workers over 45, the largest group of unemployed, and notes that employers are often unaware of financial incentives designed to promote retention of more senior staff. Increasing awareness and expanding upskilling initiatives will be required to close the gap.
A Starting Point for a National Conversation
The scope of the demographic challenge is significant, but the Chamber argues that these recommendations offer a foundation for a broader national dialogue on the future of Luxembourg’s workforce.
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