Liègeruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Liège Airport, air cargo & e-commerce logistics
Liège Airport, integrator and freighter operators, e-commerce fulfilment and customs operators
The airport handled 1,325,000 tonnes of cargo in 2025 and says more than 1.35 billion e-commerce parcels passed through it that year, supporting over 5,100 direct jobs — it is Belgium's freight airport in a way Brussels is not, and it is the single biggest reason the Liège region hires logistics people.
Université de Liège & the CHU
ULiège, CHU de Liège, GIGA research institute, Liège Science Park at Sart-Tilman
The university, its teaching hospital and the science park on the plateau at Sart-Tilman are the largest concentration of research employment in Wallonia, and together with the CHU they are among the region's biggest employers of any kind.
Space & aerospace
Centre Spatial de Liège, Safran Aero Boosters, Sonaca and the regional aerospace supply chain
The Centre Spatial de Liège has been testing and qualifying space instruments for ESA missions for decades, and the aero-engine plants on the northern edge of the agglomeration make aerospace one of the few high-value industries that survived the collapse of the steel economy intact.
Energy, hydrogen & heavy engineering
John Cockerill, engineering contractors and the metals supply chain around Seraing
John Cockerill is what remains and what was rebuilt from Liège's industrial past — the name behind the nineteenth-century steel valley, now working in hydrogen electrolysers, energy and defence from Seraing upstream of the city.
Inland port & river logistics
Port autonome de Liège, terminal operators on the Meuse and the Albert Canal
Liège is Belgium's largest inland port and one of the largest in Europe, connected by the Albert Canal to Antwerp and by the Meuse to Rotterdam — which is why so much of the airport's freight economy has a barge and a warehouse behind it.
Public administration, health & social services
City of Liège and the surrounding communes, Province of Liège, CPAS, hospital groups and care providers
In a city that lost its industrial base and rebuilt around services, the public and health sectors are a very large share of stable employment — and effectively all of it works in French.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.