Unemployment claims in Belgium fell by 42.8% in July compared with the same month in 2025, largely because of reforms that have led many people to lose their entitlement, the National Employment Office, ONEM, said on Thursday.
A total of 159,105 fully unemployed jobseekers received benefits in July, 119,132 fewer than in July 2025.
The office said the sharp decline was linked in particular to the unemployment reform, under which the first cases of entitlement ending began to appear from January 2026.
Since the start of the year, 131,104 people have already reached the end of their entitlement. Of these, 11,994 had been receiving an insertion allowance and 119,110 a standard unemployment benefit.
Nearly half of those affected, 48.1%, were in Wallonia. The others were split almost evenly between Flanders, 26.5%, and Brussels-Capital Region, 25.4%.
Men accounted for 56.3% of those who lost their entitlement, while 56.9% were aged between 25 and 49. Under-25s made up 5.2% of the total, and people aged over 50 accounted for the remaining 38%.
The annual fall in full unemployment was slightly steeper among women than men, the office said. The number of women receiving benefits fell by 52,210, or 43.5%, compared with a drop of 66,922, or 42.3%, among men.
Regionally, the number of fully unemployed people fell by 29.9% year on year in Flanders in July, a drop of 29,937 people.
In Wallonia, the decline was 47.7%, or 55,970 people, while in Brussels it was 54.7%, or 33,225.
Last month, Flanders had 70,228 fully unemployed people, compared with 61,335 in Wallonia and 27,542 in Brussels.
