Belgium lost a total of 7,780 jobs between January and March 2025, marking a new record since 2014, according to statistics from Statbel.
Additionally, 2,985 companies declared bankruptcy in the same period, the highest number in a decade.
Belgium recorded 1,055 bankruptcies in March, a 3% increase compared to the same period 12 months earlier and a 15% increase compared to March 2023. This is the highest number for the month of March since 2015, when there were 1,134 bankruptcies.
Bankruptcies increased across all regions, particularly in Flanders, where a new record for March was set, surpassing the previous record of 594 in 2024 to reach 628 this year.
The construction sector (742 bankruptcies), transport and storage (193 bankruptcies), and specialised, scientific, and technical activities (234 bankruptcies) also experienced record monthly closures.
During the first three months of the year, Statbel recorded 2,985 bankruptcies, a record for the first quarter since 2014, which saw 2,990 liquidations.
In March alone, there were 2,745 job losses, a 32.4% increase compared to the same month in 2024. The last time job losses were higher in March was in 2019. Flanders felt this rise most acutely, with 1,906 losses, an increase of 81.4% from March 2024.
In total, 7,780 jobs were lost in the first quarter, a record since the first three months of 2014, which saw 8,623 job cuts. Statbel noted that the commerce and hospitality sectors experienced the most significant losses during this period.
