The Belgian economy stagnated in the second quarter, the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) confirmed on Monday.
Gross domestic product was unchanged from the first three months of the year. Compared with the second quarter of last year, the economy grew by 0.5%.
The figures confirm a flash estimate published at the end of July.
Compared with the first quarter, the services sector expanded by 0.3%. Industry shrank by 0.6%, while construction fell by 0.2%.
Government investment dropped sharply, down 8%. By contrast, household consumption rose by 0.4%, and net exports also made a positive contribution to growth.
The National Bank also said 6,490 more people entered the labour force in the first quarter. Compared with the previous year, domestic employment increased by 12,810.
It is the first time since the final quarter of 2020 that the Belgian economy has failed to grow on a quarterly basis. In that period, it contracted by 0.5%.
