One in five households would struggle with an unexpected expense

The Chamber of Employees (CSL) presented its latest Social Panorama report on Thursday, revealing persistent inequalities in Luxembourg despite the country’s overall wealth.

“Since 2005, the risk of poverty has gradually increased in Luxembourg, and nothing is being done to remedy this,” said Nora Back, president of the CSL. “In this respect, we are worse off than our neighbours in this respect.”

One figure in particular stood out: €2,278 – an unexpected expense of that amount could leave one in five households, or 22.5%, struggling financially, the report found.

“This could happen to anyone and might result from something as simple as car trouble or urgent home repairs,” the CSL noted.

The situation is even more precarious for single parents, 40% of whom would struggle to cover such a cost, and for 29% of families with three or more children.

A job does not protect against poverty

The CSL drew attention to the working poor. Although Luxembourg guarantees the highest minimum wage in Europe, it is not enough to protect against poverty.

According to the CSL's calculations, one in seven employees is at risk of poverty, or 18.1% – more than in Belgium (11.5%), Germany  (15.5%) and France (15.9%).

"At most, we attain the Eurozone average, and are worse off than our neighbours," said Brito's Félix Martins, an economist and adviser to the CSL board.

The poverty rate is increasing in spite of government measures to combat it. "They are less and less effective," explained CSL vice-president Patrick Dury. "The government wanted to create jobs and revive the economy, not a bad thing as long as we can integrate people into the market with the right measures and training. But effectively ,what we are seeing has very little momentum."

En bleu foncé, au milieu de chaque trio, le seuil de risque de pauvreté. Et en rouge, le salaire net, allocations familiales incluses. / © Chambre des salariés / Panorama social 2025

CSL data shows that in 2023, the poverty threshold stood at €2,540 for one adult, when the minimum wage barely reached €2,255.

Single parents with one young child (€2,880 minimum salary per month, including family benefits, for a poverty risk threshold set at €3,302) or with two teenage children (€3,405 minimum salary for a poverty risk threshold set at €4,572) are equally likely to struggle.

The same applies to couples with two teenage children, earning €5,282 including child benefit, with a threshold set at €5,842.

Only couples with a young child or no children at all have a net income over the poverty threshold, ranging from €4,756 for the former, with a threshold of €4,573;  or €4,457 for the latter, with a threshold of €3,810.

Back said the best way to tackle the issue would be to increase wages. "We have demanded this for a long time," she added. "And although we welcome the reindexation of family benefits, these also need to increase."