The figures are drawn from a study by the Luxembourg Institute for Socio-Economic Research (LISER), commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, examining how Luxembourg attracts and retains newly arrived immigrants and cross-border workers.
Overall the Study, which covers on the 2002-2024 period, underlines the country’s increasingly international labour force. In 2024, nearly 90% of new entrants to the job market were born outside Luxembourg, the majority of them under 39.
Looking closer at cross-border workers, the study shows that 15,200 people started working in Luxembourg for the first time in 2024. The share commuting from France continues to grow, while numbers from Belgium and Germany have declined. Over the longer term, the profile of cross-border workers has also shifted, with a significant proportion born in countries other than their current country of residence.
Meanwhile, around 8,200 foreign nationals residing in Luxembourg entered employment in 2024. Nationalities that were once strongly represented, such as Portuguese workers, no longer dominate among new arrivals.
The study also underscores the high mobility of Luxembourg’s foreign workforce. Around 30% of new arrivals leave the labour market within a year, and roughly half of all newcomers exit the country again within five years.
