The new Director of Actiris, the Brussels regional employment office, questioned on Friday the possibility that Belgium could reach an employment rate of 80% by 2030, a target set by the Federal Government.
“Clearly, it’s too ambitious. We don’t have the means for these ambitions”, commented Cristina Amboldi, guest on the morning show of La Première (RTBF), who recently was appointed Director of the Brussels employment office.
Achieving an employment rate of 80% would amount to putting some 300,000 jobseekers back into work, as well as 400,000 other people, including those suffering from long-term sickness, she stressed.
Belgium currently has an employment rate hovering around 70% in the 20 to 64 age bracket, with, however, strong regional variations. In the capital, it is only 62%.
