Luxembourg shows the lowest level of overqualification in the EU

According to Eurostat, in 2024 Luxembourg has the lowest level of "overqualified" workers of any country in the European Union: only 4.7 per cent of workers have education beyond the requirements of their position. This contrasts sharply with the EU average of 21.5 per cent, and especially with countries such as Spain and Greece, where one in three workers work in a position that does not match their level of education.

This phenomenon, known as overqualification, often indicates an imbalance between the education system and the labour market. In Luxembourg, on the contrary, there is a harmony between diplomas and labour reality, indicating a high degree of precision in recruitment and an economic structure capable of efficiently absorbing skilled people.

The level of overqualification in Luxembourg shows minimal differences by gender and age: 5.1 per cent among women and 4.3 per cent among men. Young people (25-34 years old) show an even lower rate of 3.7 per cent, while the older categories (35+) have a slightly higher rate of 4.6 per cent. This may indicate both more precise profiling in the new educational programmes and better labour planning in the new generations.

In 2024, the employment rate among working-age people in Luxembourg is 74.2%, 0.4 percentage points lower than a year earlier. This is slightly lower than the EU average (75.8 per cent) but significantly higher than, for example, Belgium (72.3 per cent).

The main driver of employment growth over the last 15 years has been female activation: while in 2009 only 61.5% of women were employed, in 2024 it will be 71.4%. In contrast, the employment rate among men fell from 79 per cent to 76.9 per cent over the same period, which, however, is in line with the European trend.

This transformation reflects profound changes in the structure of society and the labour market: flexible forms of employment, a growing share of the service sector, and improved conditions for reconciling work and family all contribute to women's integration into the economy.

A comparative look across the EU gives an interesting picture: the highest female employment is in Estonia (80.9%) and Sweden (79.9%), which is not surprising for countries with strong social support and gender equality policies. At the other pole are Italy (57.4 per cent) and Greece (59.9 per cent), where the traditional family model is still dominant.