At the end of February, 221,775 unemployed jobseekers were registered with the Flemish employment agency VDAB, marking a 3% rise compared to the same period last year.
More than half of the unemployed jobseekers, 54% or 118,925 people, were either receiving unemployment benefits or had applied for them.
The remaining individuals were either jobseekers without entitlement to benefits (40%) or young people in a professional integration period (5%).
The unemployment rate in Flanders remained stable at 6.8%, representing the proportion of jobseekers without employment compared to the region’s working-age population.
According to VDAB’s AI model, 18% of registered jobseekers have a more than 50% chance of finding work within six months.
For 28%, the likelihood is between 35% and 50%, while 55% face a low probability of securing employment soon.
VDAB highlighted that over 44,000 Flemish jobseekers risk losing their unemployment benefits in the first half of this year. This stems from a Federal Government decision to limit the duration of unemployment payments.
The impact of this measure on unemployment figures has so far been minimal, the agency noted. "A smaller group of jobseekers near the end of their benefit period has left unemployment, for instance by finding work."
Additionally, VDAB only removes jobseekers from its registers after Belgium’s National Employment Office (RVA) confirms they have lost their benefits and the individuals themselves declare they are no longer searching for work.
