Credit: Pixabay
Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy has reported that the Economic Committee (Comité de Conjoncture) met on Monday 25 November 2024, under the chairmanship of Luxembourg’s Minister of Labour, Georges Mischo.
During the meeting, the Economic Committee first analysed the national economic situation and that of the labour market for the month of October 2024. The Economic Committee then studied the forecast applications for partial unemployment (short-time work) for the month of December 2024. The number of applications submitted increased by seven compared to the previous month. In total, 84 companies submitted a provisional request for partial unemployment. The final decision on the allocation of this support rests with the Government Council (Cabinet).
After analysing the files submitted, the Economic Committee ruled favourably on 74 requests. Among these requests, 57 are related to cyclical factors, nine are related to structural factors, i.e. they are linked to a job retention plan, and eight requests are motivated by a link of economic dependence. The number of employees concerned amounts to 7,355 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs, compared to 7,149 the previous month.
The ministry stressed that these figures are indicative and concern the forecast number of employees affected. They therefore do not represent a concrete indicator of the economic situation. This is why the Economic Committee also provides information on the number of employees who benefited from the measure. This assessment can be carried out three months after the forecast requests made upstream. Once a provisional request has been favourably notified, companies have two months to submit a count of actual non-working hours to ADEM employment agency.
Concerning the requests for partial unemployment for the month of August 2024, advised during the committee of July 2024: out of the 55 provisional requests favourably advised, 41 resorted to partial unemployment. Three files are currently still being processed, bringing the number of actual cases to 38.
Of these 38 cases, out of 3,421 beneficiaries forecast for the month of August 2024, 1,769 employees were unemployed, compared to 1,301 employees in July. This represents 362 full-time equivalent jobs (compared to 297 the previous month). The actual hours of unemployment declared for the month of August 2024 amount to 62,572, compared to 51,336 in July 2024.
The cost for the Employment Fund for the month of August 2024 amounted to €1,141,051, compared to €1,038,291 in July 2024.
Moreover, the Economic Committee issued a positive opinion following three requests for tax exemption of voluntary redundancy compensation (pursuant of Article 115 (10) L.I.R.), concerning a total of 110 people.
The next meeting of the Economic Committee will take place on Monday 16 December 2024.
