Belgian companies recorded 133,881 salaried job vacancies in the second quarter, the lowest level since 2020, according to figures published by the statistics agency Statbel on Friday.
The total for April, May and June was almost 5 per cent lower than in the first quarter. It was the ninth consecutive quarterly decline.
Vacancy numbers have now fallen to their lowest point since the final quarter of 2020, when there were 115,557 openings.
At that time, the coronavirus pandemic and successive lockdowns were having a major impact on the labour market.
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The vacancy rate, which measures vacancies against the total number of jobs, slipped from 3.42 per cent in the first quarter to 3.26 per cent in the second quarter.
The rate remained highest in Flanders at 3.65 per cent, compared with 2.73 per cent in Wallonia and 2.66 per cent in Brussels.
The sharpest fall in the second quarter was seen in the ICT sector and in other service industries.
By contrast, the hospitality sector recorded a strong increase, reaching the highest vacancy rate of any sector.
Statbel said this was likely linked to seasonal factors and the June heatwave.
