27/07/09


A Glimmer of Hope


It is a sunny day, the sky is blue and the birds are singing, you almost hear the lapping waves. An atmosphere of holiday is around … let’s get rid of the bad news!

The LPRA (Luxembourg Professional Recruiters Association) conducted a survey to establish “a global view of the labour market in Luxembourg”. Not surprisingly, the results of the survey are not very bright. Recruitment dropped by 58% in 2009. Last year, companies recruited on average 21 people; this year there are approximately 9 recruitments per company. The recruitment agencies fared slightly better with a drop of 24% of their activity. Indeed, these agencies are particularly expecting an upturn of their activity after the summer holidays.

This glimmer of hope expected after summer appears also in the study conducted by the recruitment company Antal on “the prospects for recruitment” in Luxembourg. Its Managing Director for Belgium and Luxembourg, Mr Frédéric Senet, said that he sees “positive elements that indicate that we will gradually get back on our feet again”.

The fight for talents

Nevertheless, recruitment continues, although it appears that “this crisis is far more brutal and widespread than the crisis that occurred after 2001”. However, companies must become even more aggressive to attract talents and keep their best profiles with them. Frédéric Senet explained that the companies “still continue to express needs for specific profiles in the insurance, the funds and the legal sectors, as well as the controlling and engineering jobs in the manufacturing industry”. The LPRA survey also highlights this trend for the search of the most qualified profiles: “In this context of economic crisis, companies are on the look-out for their elite, enabling them to stay in the race and manage their business at best.”


Sophie Sellier
English version: Robert Mouris



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