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August 28, 2025

Unemployment in Luxembourg: how does it work?

  Compiled by myLIFE team me&myFAMILY October 14, 2022 8619

How to register as a jobseeker in Luxembourg. What are the eligibility criteria for full unemployment benefits? What level of benefits are paid and for how long? myLIFE helps you understand how the unemployment system works in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.*

If you’ve been laid off, your employment contract has expired or you’ve just finished your studies and can’t find a job, don’t panic! You are not alone during this difficult period. Bodies such as the Agence pour le développement de l’emploi (ADEM) can help get you back on your feet.

Who can register with ADEM?

Anyone looking for a job in Luxembourg can register as a jobseeker with ADEM. You can sign up if you’ve been made redundant, have resigned or come to the end of your fixed-term contract (“CDD”), are self-employed and your own business has gone bankrupt or ceased trading, have finished your studies, or still have a job but are looking to move.

Once you register, subject to certain conditions, you can use the various services designed to help you find a new job: mentoring from a personal adviser, training to suit your profile, employment measures, financial support, access to vacant positions posted by Luxembourg employers, etc.

Remote registration

    • Via MyGuichet.lu: don’t forget to have your LuxTrust certificate or your electronic ID card to hand.
    • By appointment: call the ADEM Contact Center at (+352) 247-88 888 to schedule an appointment at the agency closest to you (Luxembourg, Esch-Belval, or Diekirch).

Once you have registered, you’ll receive an invitation to meet your personal adviser. This will give you the opportunity to discuss your situation and goals in order to target your job search effectively and give yourself the best chance of a new career.

What are the eligibility criteria for unemployment benefits?

In order to cover the loss of your income during this transition period, you may, under certain conditions, benefit from unemployment benefits in Luxembourg.

You must meet several criteria for this: you must be registered with ADEM, resident in Luxembourg, aged between 16 and 64 and, lastly, fit and available to work. Additional conditions will apply depending on your status.

Unemployment benefits are not granted if you resigned, if your employment contract was terminated by mutual agreement or in case of dismissal for serious misconduct.

If you are a jobseeker who was previously in work:

    • you must have lost your job involuntarily – unemployment benefits are not granted if you resigned, if the employment contract was terminated by mutual agreement or in case of dismissal for serious misconduct;
    • you must have worked at least 16 hours per week for at least 26 weeks (with one or several employers) during the 12 months prior to registration;
    • you may not be the holder of a business permit or the manager, director, deputy director or officer in charge of the day-to-day management of a company.

Following your registration with ADEM, if you meet the eligibility criteria, the Service for Financial Assistance to Individuals (AFP) will contact you by mail within 8 days. Among other documents, they will send you an application form for unemployment benefits.

Useful info: If you have been dismissed for serious misconduct, you can, in the context of a wrongful dismissal lawsuit, request the payment of temporary unemployment benefits while awaiting the judicial decision.

If you were previously self-employed, you must provide justification of at least two years of obligatory social security contributions in Luxembourg (as an employee or self-employed person) and have worked for at least six months before registering with ADEM.

To make your request, you must go to the AFP at ADEM within two weeks following your registration.

Finally, at the end of your studies, the right to unemployment benefits depends on your age and your qualification. Check the details of the conditions for school leavers on the ADEM website.

Cross-border workers and unemployment benefits in Luxembourg

Any cross-border workers who lose their job involuntarily in Luxembourg are not eligible for unemployment benefits in the Grand Duchy. They must contact the competent body in their country of residence: Agentur für Arbeit in Germany, ONEM in Belgium and France Travail in France. Unemployment benefits will be granted to cross-border workers meeting the conditions in force in their country of residence. However, such workers may also register with ADEM to access job vacancies published in Luxembourg and increase their chances of finding a suitable job.

Useful info: self-employed, cross-border workers who were active in Luxembourg may, subject to certain conditions, claim unemployment benefits in the Grand Duchy. For more information, visit the ADEM website.

What are the jobseeker’s obligations?

In return for the payment of unemployment benefits, you undertake to comply with several obligations:

  • to actively look for a job;
  • to attend meetings scheduled by your personal adviser;
  • to carry out any procedures of which you are notified and provide him with an updated CV;
  • to be easily available and contactable by ADEM and potential employers;
  • to respond to any summons from ADEM;
  • to inform ADEM of any change in your situation which could affect your availability (change of address, illness, foreign travel, new job, etc.);
  • to accept any appropriate job.

Useful info: looking for work is a full-time occupation, so you have the right to take 25 working days as exemption per year, during which time you do not have to comply with ADEM requirements – ask your personal adviser how to apply. Note that during this period your unemployment benefits are suspended, as is your social cover.

In Luxembourg, in principle, unemployment benefits correspond to 80% of your previous gross income.

How high are unemployment benefits?

In Luxembourg, in principle, full unemployment benefits correspond to 80% of your previous gross income. It cannot exceed 2.5 times the social minimum wage, and this ceiling decreases over time.

If you are a former employee, in principle, your unemployment benefits correspond to 80% of your gross salary during the three or six months prior to your registration with ADEM (85%, subject to conditions, for an unemployed person with dependent children).

If you were self-employed, you receive 80% of the income used as the basis for pension contributions for the last two financial years (providing contributions were paid) or 80% of the minimum wage for unskilled workers. This rate can reach 85% if you have one or more dependent children.

Lastly, if you are a school leaver, benefits are fixed at 70% of the minimum wage, unless you failed the exams at the end of your apprenticeship or are a minor (16 or 17 years old), in which case benefits are 40% of the minimum wage.

NB: if you receive any income in addition to unemployment benefits, you must declare this to ADEM. If this income exceeds 10% of your reference salary, this amount is deducted from your unemployment benefits.

For example: Before losing her job, Jeanne earned EUR 3,500 gross per month. Today, her unemployment benefits are 80% of this, i.e. EUR 2,800. Whilst looking for a job she has taken work for a few hours a week in a restaurant. If she earns less than EUR 350 per month from this (10% of her former reference salary), her unemployment benefits remain unchanged and she can keep both income streams. On the other hand, if she earns more than this, say EUR 500, the difference between this extra income and the authorised amount (i.e. EUR 500 – EUR 350 = EUR 150) is deducted from her unemployment benefits, which will therefore fall from EUR 2,800 to EUR 2,650.

In Luxembourg, unemployment benefits may, in principle, be paid for up to 12 months when the conditions are met.

For how long are unemployment benefits paid?

In Luxembourg, unemployment benefits may, in principle, be paid for up to 12 months when the conditions are met. As well as looking for a new job, you can use this period to boost your career prospects by following training courses and working on your professional network.

The length of time for which benefits are paid is based on the time worked (in months) during the reference period (rounded to the whole month).

For example:

A person who worked for 9 months and 10 days before registering with ADEM will be compensated for 10 months. A person who worked for 2 years before registering with ADEM will be compensated for 12 months.

Useful info: the length of time for which benefits are paid may be increased upon request for jobseekers who are over 50, in training, or working in the public interest, etc.

Becoming a jobseeker may be a challenging time, but try not to be despondent and treat this experience as an opportunity. This period of transition may be the moment to step back and take stock of your life. It may be the incentive you need to shift direction in your career, change your lifestyle or launch the business you’ve been dreaming about for years.

Good luck!

* Content translated from French by the BIL GPT AI tool