Belgium’s economy should grow by 1.3% in 2019, as against 1.9% last year, according to the latest macro-economic forecast by the Institute of Economic and Social Research (IRES) of the Catholic University of Louvain, issued on Thursday. "After being sustained in 2017, Belgium’s economic growth again became more modest in 2018,” IRES noted. “The expansion of the Belgian economy should remain moderate in 2019.”
“While domestic demand should be sustained due to improvements in the labour-market situation and the purchasing power of households, as well as a certain business optimism, the contribution of foreign demand would, on the other hand, be reduced as a result of slower growth in the global economy and international trade,” added IRES, which publishes its forecasts in the Regards économiques magazine.
Employment should increase in net terms by just over 37,900 units in 2019, while the number of jobseekers is likely to decrease by 15,200, according to the research institute.
Consumer prices are expected to increase by 1.8% this year, while the public budget deficit should be equivalent to 1.6% of GDP.
The Brussels Times
