Flemish unemployment rate continues to rise

In February, the number of unemployed people in Flanders grew for the fourth month in a row. Notably, the increase among those with a higher education degree (+10 per cent) is over three times higher than the average (+3.1 per cent). According to the Flemish employment agency VDAB, this increase is "largely driven by highly educated people of Ukrainian nationality".

Some 190,000 people in Flanders were unemployed at the end of February, VDAB figures show, signifying a 3.1 per cent increase compared to a year ago. The job seeker ratio - the number of unemployed versus the entire working population - is 6 per cent, up from 5.8 per cent one year earlier.

As in previous months, the number of "short-term" unemployed (who have been out of work for less than a year, ed.) showed a much more significant increase than average (+24 per cent). Furthermore, there are noticeably more unemployed with a higher education degree (+10 per cent) than before. "This increase is largely driven by highly educated people of Ukrainian nationality," VDAB states.

The number of job seekers with a nationality from outside the European Union has increased by more than 10,000 (+39 per cent) over the last twelve months. "Almost half of this is due to citizens of Ukrainian nationality (+5,045 between February 2022 and February 2023)," says VDAB.

(BRV)

^{#FlandersNewsService | Flemish employment agency VDAB © BELGA PHOTO SISKA GREMMELPREZ}