2024-03-12 09:03:47
Employment rate, activity rate, unemployment rate… Echo monitors the main labor market indicators in real time.
What is the employment situation in Belgium? Employment rate, activity rate, unemployment rate, inactivity rate… Many statistics are published at regular intervals to try to take stock of the labor market.
Are you having trouble finding your way around?
In this article, L’Echo gives you all the keys to understanding the main employment indicators. A dashboard built with the help of the various regional (Ibsa, Iweps and Steunpunt Werk) and federal (Bureau du Plan and Statbel) statistical bodies.
Each graph is updated as soon as new data is published.
#1 What is the employment rate in Belgium?
In Belgium, the employment rate is 72.2%according to figures from December 2023. It is 76.5% in Flanders, 68.2% in Brussels and 65.9% in Wallonia.
The employment rate has become the reference indicator for measuring the state of the labor market. The federal government has set itself the goal of reaching the figure of 80% by 2030. If Flanders seems to be on the right track, it is mission impossible for Brussels and Wallonia.
What is the “employment rate“?
To calculate the employment rate, we divide the entire population that declares having a job by the population of working age (20-64 years).
It is determined on the basis of a survey carried out every three months. A person who declares having worked one hour during the reference week has as much weight in this indicator as a person employed full time. Thus, if the Netherlands has an employment rate above 80%, they owe it to many part-time workers. When compared to full-time equivalent, Belgium displays a slightly better employment rate (61% compared to 60%).
On the other hand, the objective of 80% is presented as the sine qua non condition for sustainable financing of Social Security, pensions in particular. But the economist Philippe Defeyt points out that this employment rate does not indicate whether and to what extent these jobs are subject to social contributions.
Furthermore, the age range used is 20-64 years, to which the objective of 80%, defined at European level, relates. However, it is generally considered that the 15-64 age group must be taken into account (students), which would significantly reduce the figure. Furthermore, more and more pensioners continue to work, but are not counted in the employment rate.
However, the interest of this indicator lies in the fact that it allows comparisons on a European scale, since the same methodology is applied in all the countries of the Union.
#2 What is the activity rate in Belgium?
In Belgium, the activity rate is 76.1%, according to the latest figures available. It is 78.8% in Flanders, 75.4% in Brussels and 71.5% in Wallonia.
To get the inactivity rate, you simply have to add the difference with 100%. Thus, in Belgium, there are currently 23.9% inactive people.
Why is the activity rate different from the employment rate? This is due to the fact that we consider thata person who is registered as unemployed is part of the active populationsince she remains positioned on the labor market as being looking for work.
What is the “activity rate“?
To determine the activity rate, we calculate the percentage of active people (employed + unemployed) among all people aged between 20 and 64.
#3 What is the unemployment rate in Belgium?
In Belgium, the unemployment rate is 5.1%, according to the latest figures available. It is 10% in Brussels, 8% in Wallonia and 3% in Flanders.
Belgium, like many European countries, experienced mass unemployment following in particular the oil shocks of the 1970s and the resulting crisis.
Flanders has managed to do well, while Brussels and Wallonia, hit hard, are struggling to turn the page. In recent years, however, there has been a slight improvement.
This is particularly the case at Bruxelles, where unemployment has fallen by 6% in six years. However, youth unemployment remains very high. In Wallonia, the decline is less marked, but very real: since 2017, the unemployment rate has fallen by 2.8%. There Flanders as for it is almost at full employment.
In total, Belgium does a little better than the European average.
What is the “unemployment rate“?
The unemployment rate provides information on the percentage of job seekers within the active population.
#4 How many job seekers in Belgium?
518.237
unemployed job seekers
Belgium counts 518,237 unemployed job seekers (DEI), according to the latest available figures.
Who are the “unemployed job seekers“?
The DEI category brings together people who apply for unemployment benefits, those who do not receive them, but are compulsorily registered (young people on a waiting period or people registering with the CPAS, for example) or even people who have a job, but have freely registered, looking for a new job opportunity.
#5 How many unemployed people receive compensation in Belgium?
272.664
unemployed people receiving compensation
In Belgium, 272,664 people receive unemployment benefits, according to the latest figures available. The number of unemployed people receiving compensation is 119,298 in Wallonia, 95,720 in Flanders and 57,646 in Brussels.
It is the indicator for assessing the cost of unemployment for the state. In fact, this category only includes job seekers who benefit from benefits. The latter represent a little more than half of unemployed job seekers (see point 4).
The trend is downward, including in Wallonia and (a little) in Brussels. In total, between 2017 and 2023, the decrease is 32%. It can be explained both by the more favorable employment context in recent years and by the stricter rules regarding the control of the unemployed and the degression of benefits.
note that the number of long-term patients has increased significantly. The latter now number nearly 600,000, more than the total number of unemployed.
Who are the “fully unemployed people receiving compensation“?
This is only a part of all unemployed job seekers: those who benefit from unemployment benefits.
#6 How many vacancies in Belgium?
184.431
vacant positions (fixed and temporary)
There is 184,431 vacant positions in Belgium, according to the latest available figures.
The existence of vacancies is intrinsic to the labor market. But in recent years we have seen an increase in the number of jobs to be filled.
This results in particular in labor shortages in dozens of sectors. Flanders is particularly affected. Nearly 70% of all vacancies are found there.: almost at full employment, its labor reserve is almost non-existent.
The situation appears more surprising in Wallonia and Brussels, where dozens of professions are in shortage while both regions still have a significant number of unemployed.
But the job market is not a perfect equation, where supply and demand meet spontaneously at any moment. In certain professions, there is simply too few qualified people in relation to the needs of businesses. Another explanation: the bad work conditions in a series of jobs make them undesirable.
Moreover, the Belgian population is aging. Brussels is spared, but in Wallonia the situation is worrying: it is estimated that within 15 years, there will be 50,000 fewer people of working age than today.
What is the difference between vacant positions and shortage occupations?
A “vacancy” is a newly created paid job that has not yet been filled, or even a job that will become available shortly and that the company is actively seeking to fill through external recruitment.
In the three regions, certain professions are considered “in shortage” of labor. According to the Forem definition, “a profession is in shortage when fewer than 15 job seekers for 10 job opportunities are positioned in this profession”.
#7 How many bankruptcies and job losses in Belgium?
#8 How many people work in Belgium?
5.096.052
employees and self-employed at work
According to the latest figures from the National Bank, for the first time we have exceeded the threshold of five million people in employment in Belgium.
It is important to clarify that this is distributed employment depending on the place of work of the worker and not that of his place of residence.
File | Employment in Belgium
The latest information and trends on the evolution of the job market in Belgium: unemployment rate, employment rate, wage indexation, youth employment, integration into the job market… And an analysis of the policies of employment in Wallonia and Brussels.
👉 Our special file dedicated to employment
👉 Employment figures in Belgium
1710235737
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