In March 2026, 37,295 people were taken off unemployment benefits due to the end of their entitlement, while 33,789 left voluntarily before reaching the end of that period.
New figures were released on Thursday by Belgium’s National Employment Office (ONEM).
The group affected by the end of entitlement included long-term unemployed individuals in their third compensation period, with between 8 and 20 years of unemployment.
The change stems from a July 2025 reform that introduced time limits on unemployment benefits, aiming to encourage transitions into employment, as noted in ONEM’s monitoring report.
Among voluntary exits in March 2026, 19,839 people moved into salaried employment, compared to 3,755 who did so after reaching their benefit limit. Overall, 33.2% of those coming off unemployment benefits found salaried jobs.
This marks a slight increase compared to January 2026, where 30.3% of exits resulted in employment. For those whose entitlement ended, the proportion finding work rose marginally from 10.2% in January to 10.3% in March.
The exit-to-employment rate for individuals receiving insertion benefits also increased steadily, climbing from 15.7% in January to 25.8% in February, and reaching 28.4% in March.
In relative terms, the proportion of exits from unemployment benefits due to illness decreased during this period, dropping from 12% in January to 8.9% in March.
Of the 37,295 people who lost entitlement in March, 15,530 transitioned to income support, representing 41.6%.
Onem cautioned that these figures are provisional and subject to change due to external events that may affect eligibility dates. Regular updates to the monitoring data are planned.
