In Belgium, the percentage of the population aged 16-74 experiencing difficulty or great difficulties in making ends meet rose from 11.7% in the third quarter of 2021 to 16.1% in the second quarter of 2022, according to a quarterly study on living conditions conducted by Statbel, Belgium’s statistics agency.
The highest share of those experiencing financial difficulties is in the Brussels-Capital Region, where 29.4% of people had difficulties. In Wallonia, this figure is 21.1% and 10.8% in Flanders.
Almost all categories of society are experiencing increased problems in making ends meet. Among the 20% of people with the lowest incomes, making ends meet is difficult or very difficult for 34.2% of them this quarter, compared to 23.9% in the third quarter of 2021. For those in the second quartile of incomes, this figure has increased from 16.8% to 24.6%.
Similarly, more than a third of single parents (34%) now find it difficult or very difficult to make ends meet, up from 17.6% in the third quarter of 2021.
Students and retired people are also increasingly facing issues. Insecurity has rapidly increased for students. Now, 18.2% are having difficulties, compared to 10.7% last year. Retired people reported major difficulties in making ends meet, up from 10.8%.
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While workers tend to be more confident about the state of their finances, having a job does not protect 10.4% of them from experiencing problems. This figure has risen by 60% compared to Q3 2021.
But does money make us happy? The data suggests that there is little correlation between the two. The overall levels of happiness have remained largely stable, despite growing financial insecurity. About 66% of Belgians have reported feeling happy always or most of the time since the conception of the survey last year.
