12,119 Employees Eligible for Partial Unemployment in March

Luxembourg's Economic Committee has granted requests for short-time work (partial unemployment) for over 12,100 employees for the month of March 2022.

The Economic Committee met on Tuesday 22 February 2022 to analyse the labour market situation for the month of January 2022 and the national economic situation.

At this meeting, the Economic Committee granted 831 requests for partial unemployment for the month of March 2022. For the month in question, the number of applications submitted for partial unemployment fell by 294 units compared to the previous month; a total of 1,098 companies submitted such a request in February for the coming month.

Among the 831 approved requests, 769 were related to simplified structural economic problems linked to COVID-19. 54 others related to the manufacturing sector. Moreover, seven requests were considered to be a case of force majeure, because the concerned companies were still in a state of disaster following the floods of 14 and 15 July 2021. One request was related to economic dependence.

The granted requests for the month of March concern 12,119 full-time employees (down from 13,628 in February).

During this meeting, the Economic Committee also analysed in more detail the economic, financial and social situation of nine companies wishing to extend their plan to maintain individual employment, as well as nine sectors which, through the federations, had submitted a request to extend their sectoral job retention plan for their respective members. A total of fifteen out of eighteen extensions were granted and remain in effect until 30 June 2022.

Moreover, the Economic Committee approved one request for tax exemption of voluntary severance pay, concerning nine people.

Finally, the Economic Committee issued a positive opinion in relation to the legal provisions on early retirement, concerning fifteen employees. The committee offered the applicant company a rate of participation in the cost of early retirement.

The next meeting of the Economic Committee is scheduled for Tuesday 22 March 2022.