Last year, every municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region recorded an average increase in unemployed job seekers compared to 2023, according to figures by the Brussels Employment Office, Actiris.
A total of 91,628 job seekers were registered with Actiris in 2024, an average increase of 3% compared to the previous year, which had 88,979 registered job seekers.
The municipality which saw the greatest rise was Auderghem (+7.5%), followed by Uccle (+5.6%) and Etterbeek (+5.5%).
Meanwhile, the municipalities with the lowest increase were Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (+0.3%), Watermael-Boitsfort (+0.6%), and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (+0.9%).
Overall, the unemployment rate was at 14.6% last year, a slight increase of 0.4% compared to 2023. Unemployment rate is defined by Actiris as the percentage of people in the labour force who are unemployed.
Actiris attributes part of the annual changes to a decrease in labour demand due to the deterioration of the local economy. The employment office noted that it observed an 18.7% decrease in job offers in 2024 compared to 2023, excluding temporary work.
In addition, in 2024, the region also recorded 14.5% more bankruptcies compared to the previous year, which likely contributed to the unemployment figures.
Nonetheless, Actiris also noted that the increasing number of young people registering with the employment office could have contributed to the rising trend of unemployment and job seekers.
"The years 2023 and 2024 were marked by an unfavourable economic situation, and fewer young people found a job directly without registering with Actiris," the organisation noted in a statement.
Additionally, the employment office highlights that the number of job seekers could have been boosted due to a change in the validity period of registration for jobseekers who receive income support, also known as the 05 category. According to Actiris, the annual increase in job seekers excluding this category is 0.7%.
Notably, while the rate of unemployment and the number of job seekers increased between 2023 and 2024, the current figures are significantly lower compared to a decade ago.
Since 2014, the unemployment rate fell by 5.5%, while the number of jobseekers decreased by 17%, the equivalent of 18,708 people.
Although the overall decline in unemployment was observed particularly until 2020, the employment office notes that successive crises, including the COVID pandemic, energy crisis, and high inflation, have had a negative impact on unemployment in the region.
Current situation
The unemployment rate in the region currently stands at 15.1%. According to the latest figures from Actiris, the number of registered job seekers in Brussels reached 94,821 by the end of August, marking a 0.8% decrease compared to the same period last year.
As part of the austerity package agreed earlier this year by the federal government, jobseekers who remain unemployed for more than two years will lose their benefits.
In Brussels alone, this could leave up to 40,000 people without an allowance from January. According to estimates, between 13,000 and 14,000 of them will turn to the city’s public social welfare centres for a living wage, putting heavy pressure on the system.
In response to the planned reforms, earlier this month, the Brussels government unveiled a plan to improve support for long-term job seekers.
Among the initiatives are reforms to streamline the process of monitoring job seekers’ availability and increasing the frequency of support sessions.
Job seekers will also undergo comprehensive skills assessments, resulting in individual action plans tailored to their needs.
Additionally, training courses will be expanded to include a focus on improving linguistic, professional, and digital skills.
