Vacancies in Flanders rose to record number in 2022

VDAB, the Flemish public employment service, announced on Tuesday that it received 382,884 vacancies in 2022, a new record. Excluding 2020, the number of vacancies for permanent or temporary contracts that employers send to VDAB has risen every year since 2014. Temporary assignments are not included in the figures.

The number of vacancies for people with a vocational education increased the most in 2022, with 6.1 per cent to 148.551. Vacancies for people with a high school degree rose 4 per cent to 74,893, while 159,440 vacancies were aimed at lower-skilled people, representing 42 per cent of all job openings.

More than half of all vacancies came from four sectors. Business services (20 per cent), wholesale and retail (14 per cent), social services (11 per cent) and education (10 per cent) accounted for over 209,000 vacancies. Regionally, most vacancies (29 per cent) came from the province of Antwerp, Limburg ranked last with 11 per cent.

In the past six months, VDAB has received fewer vacancies than in the same month in 2021, including December. "The number of vacancies in 2021 was exceptionally high. The current number is still higher than the numbers in December of 2020 and previous years," explained the employment service.

^{© BELGA PHOTO SISKA GREMMELPREZ}