{
    "title": "Belgian unemployment and long-term sickness figures remain high despite reforms",
    "modified_at": "2026-05-08 08:38:59",
    "published_at": "2026-05-08 08:40:00",
    "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/belgian-unemployment-and-long-term-sickness-figures-remain-high-despite-reforms",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/2sGd",
    "culture": "en_BE",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "belgian-unemployment-and-long-term-sickness-figures-remain-high-despite-reforms",
    "body": "<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>The number of unemployed people receiving benefits in Flanders has remained stable despite new rules limiting unemployment payments to two years.</strong></p><p style=\"text-align: left\">Figures from the Flemish employment agency VDAB show that 110,530 people were receiving unemployment benefits at the end of April, almost unchanged from a year earlier. The unemployment rate also stayed stable at 6.6%.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">VDAB said the figures were affected by the weak economy, with more people losing their jobs and entering unemployment. The impact of the benefit reforms is also happening gradually: larger groups are expected to lose payments later this year.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">At the same time, Belgium recorded a new high in the number of long-term sick people. More than 576,000 people received invalidity benefits in 2025 after being unable to work for more than a year.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">The rise was partly linked to the higher retirement age, which increased to 66 at the start of 2025. Excluding people over 65, the number of long-term sick rose by 1.6%, a slower increase than in previous years.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke called the slower growth a &ldquo;positive sign&rdquo;, suggesting recent federal measures targeting long-term unemployment and sickness may be starting to have an effect, even though the overall figures remain high.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">Mental health problems remain the leading cause of long-term absence from work, with younger age groups showing some of the fastest increases.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">&nbsp;</p><p style=\"text-align: left\"><sup>#FlandersNewsService | &copy; BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM</sup></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>",
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    "author": {
        "first_name": "Flanders",
        "last_name": "News Service"
    },
    "format_version": 5
}