Job growth in Belgium expected to slow further
Few new jobs are expected to be created in Belgium in the near future. Only 16,000 new jobs will be created this year and 25,000 in 2025, according to new economic forecasts published on Wednesday by the Federal Planning Bureau.
In its forecasts, the Planning Bureau notes that job growth in the private sector has already slowed in 2023 and at the beginning of this year. In the second half of 2024, job creation is even expected to come to a standstill. Only in 2025 will the situation gradually improve, says the bureau.
This is in stark contrast to previous years: 40,700 jobs were added in 2023, while around 100,000 jobs were created in 2021 and 2022. The "significant loss" of white-collar jobs in industry and retail is particularly striking. The number of white-collar jobs in construction is also falling, according to the Planning Bureau.
Fewer vacancies
The downward trend in the labour market was confirmed on Wednesday by figures from the Belgian statistics office Statbel. There were 184,015 vacancies in the second quarter of 2024, 0.7 per cent less than in the first quarter. The vacancy rate - the number of vacancies in relation to the total number of jobs - also fell, from 4.4 per cent to 4.35 per cent.
As a result, the unemployment rate is expected to rise to 9.1 per cent in 2024 and 9.4 per cent in 2025. However, the Planning Bureau expects the economy to recover in 2025, with overall growth of 1.3 per cent and inflation falling below the target of 2 per cent.
© BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
Related news
