EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT TRENDS [1]
By the end of 2024, Luxembourg’s financial sector employed 73,272 individuals in Luxembourg, reflecting a significant increase from 54,195 in 2014. This corresponds to a compound annual growth (CAGR) of 3.1%, with continuous year-on-year growth recorded even during periods of global uncertainty.
Banking remains the largest employer, accounting for 35.9% of the total workforce (26,284 individuals). It was followed by legal, audit, and consulting services supporting the financial sector [2] (28.2%), and investment fund management (18.1%).
Over the past decade, however, employment in the banking sector remained relatively flat, growing at an average annual rate of just 0.1%. This slow growth explains the decline in its share of total financial sector employees – from nearly 48% in 2014 to just under 36% by the end of 2024, driven in the main by widespread banking consolidation across the EU (see “Sectoral Developments”).
In contrast, over the same period investment fund management and professional services experienced strong growth, with employment expanding at 6.7% and 5.0% per annum, respectively. As a result, investment fund management’s share of the total number of employees rose from 12.7% in 2014 to 18.1% in 2024, while the share for legal, audit, and consulting services increased from 23.4% to 28.2% over the same period. This trend underscores Luxembourg’s development not only as a hub for international financial services but also as a centre for high-value ancillary professional services.
Other financial services – including those provided by investment firms, specialised professionals of the financial sector and payment institutions, among others – also recorded robust employment growth, averaging 7.2% per year over the decade, as these subsectors develop and increasing numbers of institutions establish themselves in Luxembourg, broadening the range of activities conducted from the Grand Duchy. Insurance and financial holding companies in turn continued to be stable sources of employment.
[1] The figures in this section refer exclusively to individuals based in Luxembourg and do not include those employed at branches of Luxembourg-based financial services institutions located outside the Grand Duchy.
[2] For the purposes of this report, legal, audit, and consulting services supporting the financial sector are classified under NACE codes M69.10 (Legal activities), M69.20 (Accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing activities), and M70.22 (Business and other management consultancy activities). These will hereafter be collectively referred to as “professional services” or “service providers”.