Belgium will struggle to achieve an employment rate of 80%, warned PS Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne. The country’s current rate is 72.3%, according to Statbel figures. However, Dermagne argued that this objective is attainable with labor market reform. Other political leaders, including N-VA’s Peter De Roover, agree that Belgium needs to undertake structural changes to achieve this employment target. The Planning Office and Monitoring Committee predict an employment rate of around 74% for people aged 20 to 64 in 2030. Olivier Clarinval, a Belga Agency commentator, suggests that the country may even be at the bottom of the European rankings if the labor market remains stagnant.
According to him, there is no indication that Belgium will reach an employment rate of 80%. On the contrary, the country will be the European red lantern if a reform of the labor market is not carried out.
The employment rate in Belgium reached 72.3% in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the Statbel count, communicated by Mr. Dermagne on Sunday. The government’s objective of raising this rate to 80% in 2030 is “within reach”, read the PS minister.
“It’s complacency, an extrapolation without concrete basis. What we know is nothing but the effect of a post-covid catch-up and an effect of the aging of the population which reduces the number of unemployed without allowing us to reach the European average. In our view, there is rather cause for concern. We concluded a 1st jobdeal with this government but it is not sufficient. We will need a 2nd jobdeal which is a real reform of the labor market which puts the unemployed back to work”, said Mr. Clarinval to the Belga Agency an hour before a government meeting devoted to the budgetary adjustment.
Both the Planning Office and the Monitoring Committee foresee an employment rate for people aged 20 to 64 which would be around 74% in 2030, recalled Mr. Clarinval.
In opposition, the N-VA held a comparable discourse. Flemish nationalist group leader Peter De Roover also disputes this expectation of an 80% employment rate in 2030. “Today there are 1.4 million benefit recipients of working age. , including 300,000 unemployed. In order not to stagnate at a percentage of 74-75%, structural reforms worthy of the name are necessary in the labor market and in our benefit system”, he underlined.
In conclusion, it seems clear that Belgium still has a lot of work to do to reach its target of an 80% employment rate by 2030. While the government has made some efforts, such as the 1st jobdeal, it appears that more significant reforms will be necessary to achieve this lofty goal. With experts warning that Belgium might become the European red lantern in terms of employment rates, it is up to the government and other stakeholders to take bold action and chart a path towards a more prosperous future for all. Only time will tell if Belgium can rise to this formidable challenge.
