Never in the last 45 years has unemployment in Belgium been so low, yet Belgium is trailing far behind in terms of job creation.
In concrete terms, Belgium has enjoyed an impressive surge in job creation by Belgian standards. Yet compared to other countries, Belgium is lagging far behind, De Tijd reports.
Last year, 101,000 extra jobs were created in the country. However, if the Belgian labour market operated like in other countries, this figure would be nearer to 300,000, according to a report by the High Council for Employment.
Steven Vanackere, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), nuanced the report. “100,000, 200,000, 300,000: The first figure shows the good news, the second the potential, and the third the catch-up,” the bank official said.
Off the mark
Belgian employment levels have resurged after significant disruption during the Covid-19 pandemic. The hospitality, trade, manufacturing, and business service sectors were all hit hard by the pandemic, but have since absorbed job losses.
Employment is now higher than it was before the pandemic and workers are working more hours, playing catch up from the disruption in 2020-2021. For the coming years, job growth is expected to continue at around 40,000-50,000 per year. First, the number of job vacancies last year hit 200,000.
This seems like a qualified success, but there is one major caveat. Last year, there were 200,000 job vacancies, or double the level of job creation, on the Belgian labour market. In other words, job creation could have been twice as large if there were enough professionals to take on jobs. This number of job vacancies is even described as an “underestimate” by Vanackere, as many companies have simply given up trying to look for staff.
There is clearly a shortage of labour talent, and statistics are telling. In Belgium, there are 4.7 vacancies for every 100 jobs. This is double the EU average (2.8%). Flanders well above the EU average, but so too are Brussels and Wallonia.
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This comparison with the European labour market leads the bank to make a disappointing conclusion. Belgium is not able to reach its goal of achieving 80% employment for the working-age population, despite relatively low levels of unemployment, because a large group of Belgians are simply not looking for work.
This too is sadly confirmed by European statistics. In Belgium, the percentage of people of working age who are working or looking for work is 76%. In the EU, the average is 79.4%. Ultimately, If Belgium manages to close this gap, it could fill 300,000 new positions.
