Belgium’s unemployment rate remained stable in November, as did that of the Eurozone as a whole, but according to the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (FEB), most Belgian businesses fear employment will fall in the first few months of this year.
The jobless rate in Belgium stood at 5.8% of the working population in November – stable compared with October - according to the latest figures from the European Statistics Office, Eurostat, issued on Tuesday.
This was lower than the Eurozone average, which was also stable, at 6.3%, and had remained unchanged since August, according to Eurostat.
Lowest EU unemployment rate since 1998
For the European Union as a whole, the unemployment rate reached 5.9% in November. It, too, was unchanged since its historic low in August.
In fact, despite weak economic growth, the indicator remains at its lowest level since Eurostat began compiling this series in April 1998 for the countries sharing the single currency (now 20 in number).
Some 12.97 million people were unemployed in November in the 27 EU Member States, including 10.82 million in the Eurozone.
Belgium’s jobless rate was higher than Germany’s (3.4%), according to harmonised Eurostat data, but lower than that of France (7.7%) and Luxembourg (6.3%).
The lowest rates in the EU were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.8%), Poland (3%) and Malta (3%), while the highest were recorded in Spain (11.2%), Greece (9.6%) and Finland (8.7%).
European Commission forecasts 6.3% joblessness rate in 2025
In its latest economic forecasts, published in November, the European Commission predicts that the unemployment rate will stabilise at 6.3% in 2025 and 2026 in the Eurozone, and at 5.9% over the same period for the EU as a whole.
However, most Belgian businesses expect employment levels to fall in the first few months, according to an analysis published on Monday by the FEB, which took the pulse of the sector federations.
Belgium’s industrial recession has been going on for over a year and a half and is gradually spreading to other pillars of the economy such as trade and construction, the organisation warns.
At the end of 2024, 55% of the sectors surveyed by the FEB had reported a fall in employment over the past six months, compared with 30% in May. Industry was particularly hard hit, with 7,000 job losses in the first three quarters of 2024, and 12,000 since mid-2023, according to the FEB.
Gloomy Belgian industrial job outlook
The industrial sectors (particularly steel, metal and textiles) are still pessimistic, and are forecasting a further deterioration in employment at the start of 2025. Only the Information and Communication Technology sector is forecasting an upturn.
According to the FEB, the situation can be explained by the “considerable worsening” of the structural problems of business competitiveness in 2022-2023.
The federation points a finger at the energy crisis, with persistently high costs and an increased handicap in terms of wage costs (13%). According to its calculations, an hour's work in the private sector in Belgium will cost an average of €47.1 in 2023, compared with €41.7 in the three neighbouring countries. The average difference is around €750 per month.
This weakening in the competitiveness of Belgian industrial companies is reflected in a decline in market share at home and abroad, adds the FEB. Export volumes contracted further in 2024, and the downturn is set to intensify this year, according to the sectors surveyed.
FEB wants better control of wage costs, lower energy costs
To restore a more sustained pace of growth in the private sector, the FEB is calling, among other things, for better control of wage costs, lower energy costs for businesses and a reduction in administrative burdens.
“The problems facing our businesses are clear and the solutions are well known,” says Pieter Timmermans, CEO of the FEB. “We need to do the same thing as the other countries in the Eurozone: limit the duration of unemployment benefits, set midnight as the start of nighttime work instead of 8 p.m., and cap employers' contributions.
“It is to be hoped that the new government will tackle these problems,” he adds.
The head of the FEB believes that, “at first sight,” the measures envisaged by the federal negotiators, as part of the formation of the incoming coalition, go in this direction. However, he urges the political parties not to "weaken" the texts.
“If we add exceptions to the limit on unemployment benefits or nighttime work after midnight, the measure is weakened and even entails an additional administrative burden,” Timmermans warns.
