According to EU regulations, a person who works in one country but lives in another (or returns at least once per week), is considered a cross-border employee.
Apart from Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands also have elevated numbers of cross-border workers entering the country on a daily basis.
© Eurostat/Statec
Within the EU, France has the greatest fraction of people not working inside their own country. Germany ranks second, Belgium third. Italy follows not too far behind.
© Eurostat/Statec
A steady increase
Between the years 2005 and 2019, the number of cross-border employees commuting to Luxembourg increased by 3.9% each year. The last 4 years even noted a 4.3% rise, while 2019 was marked by a plus of 4.6%.
A little more than half of Luxembourg's cross-border workers come from France, a number that remained stable at 52% between 2005 and 2019. Germany registered a 2% increase over that same period, Belgium a 3% decrease.
© Statec
All three of our neighbouring countries combined, 200,721 people commute to Luxembourg in total.
Average salaries
On average, French cross-border employees earn €10,400 less than those from Belgium, which also puts them €8,700 behind the annual average of German workers.
The difference can be explained through the industries in which people are employed. A large portion of French people work in the Horesca sector or in retail.
© Statec
