{
    "title": "Self-employment in Flanders reaches 25-year high",
    "modified_at": "2026-05-05 16:33:12",
    "published_at": "2026-05-05 15:07:00",
    "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/self-employment-in-flanders-reaches-25-year-high",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/sgFd",
    "culture": "en_BE",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "self-employment-in-flanders-reaches-25-year-high",
    "body": "<p><strong>Fifteen per cent of the working population aged 20 to 64 in Flanders were self-employed as their main occupation last year, according to figures from Statistics Flanders. That is one per cent more than in 2024 and the highest share in at least 25 years.</strong></p><p>Among working women, the self-employment rate was 11 per cent in 2025, compared with 18.6 per cent among men. The share also rises with age: 10.5 per cent of workers aged 20 to 24 were self-employed, rising to 18 per cent in the 55-to-64 age group.</p><p>Flanders leads the other Belgian regions by a considerable margin, with a self-employment rate 15 per cent higher than Wallonia (11.9 per cent) and Brussels (13.9 per cent). The EU average stands at 13.1 per cent, with Greece topping the ranking at 24.4 per cent.</p><h4 id=\"long-hours-persistent-gender-gap\" >Long hours, persistent gender gap</h4><p>The figures from Statistics Flanders also reveal that in 2025, self-employed people in Flanders worked an average of 45.7 hours per week. That is over 10 hours more than the average of 35.4 hours for salaried employees. </p><p>The overall average for the working population aged 20 to 64 was 36.9 hours per week, a slight recovery from the record low of 36.8 hours recorded in 2024. These figures cover only main activities, not secondary employment.</p><p>A gender gap in working hours persists: men worked an average of 39.9 hours per week last year, while women worked 33.6 hours. Part-time work remains far more common among women, with 39.6 per cent working part-time compared with 12 per cent of men. Overall, a quarter of Flemish workers were employed part-time last year.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><sup>#FlandersNewsService | &copy; BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT</sup></p><hr /><p><strong>Related news</strong></p><div id=\"bookmark-8c2b81cb-2c8b-44ca-bc00-9487f043f9d1\"\n     class=\"release-content-bookmark release-content-bookmark--horizontal\">\n\n            <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__thumbnail\"\n           href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/flanders-employment-rate-continued-to-rise-in-2025\"\n           rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n           target=\"_blank\"           style=\"background-image: url(https://prezly.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2Fcf1bd63f-610e-4687-bf0d-e694ed06ecd6%2F-%2Fpreview%2F600x600%2F?ar=1%3A1&amp;fit=crop&amp;s=5bd5deabafb547ba70b467a823729795)\"\n        ></a>\n    \n    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__details\">\n\n                    <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__title\"\n               href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/flanders-employment-rate-continued-to-rise-in-2025\"\n               rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n               target=\"_blank\"               data-type=\"bookmark\"\n               data-track=\"Story WebBookmark Click\"\n               data-placement=\"content\"\n               data-id=\"8c2b81cb-2c8b-44ca-bc00-9487f043f9d1\"\n           >\n                Flanders employment rate continued to rise in 2025            </a>\n        \n                    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__description\">\n                The employment rate among 20- to 64-year-olds in Flanders reached 77.3 per cent in 2025, a slight increase from 76.9 per cent the previous year...            </div>\n        \n        <a href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/\"\n           target=\"_blank\"\n           rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"\n           class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider\"\n        >\n            <img class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider-icon\" src=\"https://avatars.prezly.com/favicon?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.belganewsagency.eu%2Fflanders-employment-rate-continued-to-rise-in-2025&newsroom=6b71e247-a9ba-4732-aaa3-88be14c119db\" aria-hidden=\"true\" />\n            belganewsagency.eu        </a>\n    </div>\n</div>\n",
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    "links": [
        {
            "description": "Flanders employment rate continued to rise in 2025",
            "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/flanders-employment-rate-continued-to-rise-in-2025"
        }
    ],
    "author": {
        "first_name": "Flanders",
        "last_name": "News Service"
    },
    "format_version": 5
}