Luxembourg’s economic performance is robust thanks to its dynamic services sector, sound fiscal policies and openness to global talent. The pace of job creation is strong and benefits not only residents but also cross-border workers and immigrants. The large financial sector is well supervised, but to reduce reliance on the financial industry the government should further develop its long-term strategy focusing on new digital technologies and renewable energy.

Supplying the skills needed in these new sectors will require further improvements in the education system, with a focus on lifelong learning. Better alignment of skills with labour market needs would entail reorienting labour market policies from supporting job creating towards funding training programmes to facilitate the reallocation of labour. Luxembourg benefits from immigrants who play a successful role in the economy. Integration challenges remain, though, especially regarding people from non-EU countries, who suffer from high unemployment. As language proficiency is a key precondition for successful integration, public supply of language courses should be stepped up further. Education reforms seek to make schools more equitable, also for the children of immigrants, and equality between men and women is being promoted by easing access to childcare and making taxation more gender neutral.

SPECIAL FEATURES: BOOSTING SKILLS; IMPROVING THE INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANTS