The Belgian employment rate has risen slightly to almost 73%, however, the average continues to be dragged down by the low employment rate among the non-Belgian population.
The employment rate among people of working age (20-64-year-olds) in Belgium stood at 72.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024, figures from the Belgian statistics bureau Statbel published on Thursday showed. This marks a record.
"When we look at the employment rate over 25 years, we see that it has shown a slight upward trend since 2000," Statbel's spokesperson Wendy Schelfaut said. The employment rate was 6.5 percentage points higher (72.3%) in 2024 than in 2000 (65.8%).
Non-EU citizens lagging behind
This national average hides the significant differences based on people's backgrounds.
"The employment rates of persons of Belgian, EU27 and non-EU27 nationality are following an upward trend," Statbel noted. Meanwhile, the gap between people of Belgian nationality and of non-EU27 nationality narrowed slightly.
Two decades ago, the employment rate among non-EU27 nationals was 44.3% compared to 63.8% among EU nationals and 25 percentage points below the rate among Belgians (69.1%).
However, this gap remains large. In 2024, the employment rate among non-EU27 nationals was 58% in 2024. This is around 11 percentage points lower than the rate among people of EU27 nationality (70.7%) and 19 percentage points lower than the figure for people with Belgian nationality (77%).
This gap can in part be explained by the various barriers non-EU people face to work in Belgium, from the necessary language skills to legal restrictions. Almost all non-EU citizens wanting to work in Belgium will first require a work visa, the procedure for which can be challenging. Their degree also needs to be officially recognised, another complex process.
Finding a suitable job as a highly educated non-EU citizen is much more challenging in Belgium than in neighbouring countries, in part due to discrimination.
Regional differences
Statbel also recorded large regional differences. Flanders is by far the best-performing and was also the only region where the employment rate increased between the third and fourth quarters of 2024.
The employment rate is estimated at 78.2% in Flanders. In second place was Wallonia with an employment rate of 66.3%. The figure remains the lowest in Brussels (63.8%) in the fourth quarter. Over the entire year, the employment rates were 76.9%, 67.1% and 64.1%, respectively.
This means the Flemish Region is gradually approaching the target employment rate of 80%. The target – to be achieved by 2029 – was set in the recent Federal Government coalition agreement. To achieve this goal, 550,000 20-64-year-olds will need to find work. Currently, 4.9 million 20-64-year-olds are working, but in 2029 there will need to be approximately 5.45 million to achieve the goal.
The statistics bureau also listed several striking long-term developments. For example, the employment rate has increased sharply in the 55 to 64 age group, from 26.3% in 2000 to 59.4% by 2024. This can be explained by the increase in the statutory retirement age. The gap with younger people (20-54 years) remains large – this group's rate is 76.1%.
In the same period, women made significant gains. The difference in employment rate with men more than halved to 8 percentage points compared to compared to 19.5 percentage points in 2000. Specifically, in 2024, 68.3% of women aged 20 to 64 were in work, compared to 76.3% of men.
Among several vulnerable groups, the rate remains low in 2024: barely a quarter of people with a serious long-term disability in their daily activities due to a handicap, condition or illness are working, while among people with a low level of education, this figure was 47.5%.
