Over 100,000 people across Belgium may be affected by federal plans to stop paying unemployment benefits to anyone who has been out of work for more than two years, Federal Minister of Labour and Economy David Clarinval (MR) said.
Belgium is currently one of the few European countries that does not limit the duration of its unemployment benefits. Under the current rules, jobseekers are entitled to 65% of their last salary. This does however include a lower and upper limit on payments, which decreases over time. The amount of social benefits received also depends on the claimant’s family situation and employment history.
Under the new plans, this is set to change. In an interview with De Standaard, Clarinval revealed that the Federal Government will no longer pay unemployment benefits after a period of a maximum of two years. This measure will not apply to those over 55-years-old who have worked a sufficient number of years.
Those who have worked for at least one year in the last three years will be entitled to one year of unemployment benefit. Each additional four months of work will result in an additional month of unemployment benefits, up to a maximum of two years. This means that benefits claimants who have not held meaningful employment for extended periods may find that their payments will soon be stopped.
Belgium has around 320,000 unemployed people under the age of 55, of which slightly more than 100,000 have been unemployed for over two years.
Credit: Belga / Jonas Hamers
French-speaking Belgians could be disproportionately affected by this policy change. Just under half (46,580) of long-term unemployed are from Wallonia, while Flanders and Brussels account for a quarter each of those unemployed for more than two years.
Wallonia is statistically Belgium’s poorest region. As of 2022, GDP per capita in Brussels was €69,500 – almost double the EU average. On the other hand, GDP per capita in Wallonia was just 30,700 – 13% below the EU average. The French-speaking region faces structural unemployment as a result of its rapid deindustrialisation.
Despite this, Clarinval seemed to have little sympathy for those in long-term employment in Wallonia. “This has a lot to do with mentality,” the minister told De Standaard. “In Wallonia, there are unemployed people who celebrate their 20th year of unemployment. But unemployment is not a career.”
The Federal Government states that it is working on transitional measures for those affected but the end of their benefits. Coalition partners CD&V and Vooruit say they will push to extend the benefits claimant time limit for those training for careers in high-demand sectors. Some of these training programmes take up to four years to complete.
Slashing unemployment benefits is central to the Arizona coalition’s plans to reduce Belgium's burgeoning budget deficit, which rose to 4.2% of GDP in 2023. The move to cap the claims period on unemployment benefits is set to net the government €902 million next year, increasing to €1.9 billion by 2029.
