On paper, Brussels is Europe’s opportunity hub, home to the European Parliament, a wide range of NGOs, and a strong policy job market. In practice, breaking into the job market and landing steady employment can be more complex.
According to Statbel, in 2025 the unemployment rate among people aged 15-64 was estimated at 6.2%, up from 5.8% in 2024.
While the figures may suggest a relatively stable labour market, job seekers describe a more difficult reality.
The road to employment
Noah Mohamed is currently a lab assistant at Procter and Gamble. He started the job in March 2026. "I began applying [for jobs] around September 2024," he told The Brussels Times.
Mohamed holds a Bachelor's degree in molecular biology and speaks three languages – Arabic, English and Tigrinya (Eritrean). He is also improving his Dutch through B2-level classes at CVO Brussel. Despite applying for more than a year, he did not receive any interview invitations.
"Most of the time, there was no response," he explained. "Or just emails of rejection." He believes that language requirements were a key barrier in his search, with many roles requiring either Dutch, French, or both.
He also shared his views about the job market. "Competition is higher for candidates with a more advanced degree," Mohamed notes, adding that some employers may prefer candidates with lower degrees for cost-related reasons.
Illustration image. Credit: PxHere
Francis Sanchez knows the feeling. He told The Brussels Times that before landing his job at Tesla in Amsterdam, he applied to 185 vacancies. "From the end of September 2025 until December 2025, I was on the hunt for something I really wanted to do."
He is also fluent in three languages – French, Spanish, and English and holds a Bachelor's in Mining Engineering with a specialisation in energy resources.
For others, the challenge is not about applications but about access and networks. Olivia Bennet*, now a communications officer at a healthcare association, points to her Russian roots as a barrier to finding stable employment. "I am half Russian, and I think it had some impact on my job search. Maybe some people were more cautious about hiring someone of Russian origin," she told The Brussels Times.
Despite her experience with organisations such as UNAIDS, UNESCO, and the European Commission, it was a personal contact that helped her secure one of her interviews. "Brussels is about networking," she said. "You really need to know somebody here."
Taken together, these experiences raise a key question at the heart of Brussels’ labour market: why are highly educated and skilled people struggling to find employment?
One job, many applicants
According to recruiters, many candidates in Brussels face similar challenges, particularly when it comes to job requirements and competition.
"We hire one out of 100 applicants," Wim De Graef, an independent recruitment consultant collaborating with Goodman and Ageas, told The Brussels Times. This reflects the high competition on the labour market in Brussels.
Echoing this sentiment, Hanneke de Visser, an independent senior talent acquisition consultant working with imec, said she sometimes closes job advertisements in two or three weeks due to the volume of applications.
On top of handling job applications, recruiters often face LinkedIn inboxes flooded with messages. "I always try to respond encouraging job seekers to use the careers page and apply if there’s a good matching position for them," said de Visser.
While many people apply for multiple positions, De Graef noted that "a lot of those candidates are not selected because they’re not relevant at all." Depending on the role, he interviews between seven and 20 candidates.
"For more technical roles, we can screen people for very specific skills, but for more generic positions, the pool can go up to 20 people," he said. Then, he added, applicants are assessed not only on their hard skills but also on language proficiency and role-specific expertise.
"On average, we would set up a first meeting with one out of 10 people," de Visser added.
Many jobs in specific sectors require several years of experience, making it even more difficult for recent graduates to enter the job market. "We don’t hire juniors," said De Graef. "For most positions, we require five years of relevant experience." He added that employers are also becoming "stricter" and less willing to compromise on hiring for managerial positions.
A tightened labour market
These challenges are also reflected in broader labour market trends: as of March 2026, Actiris, Brussels’ employment agency, reports that there are 96,113 registered job seekers, a 6.6% increase from March 2025.
While the number of job seekers has been increasing, job offers registered at the organisation in 2025 dropped by 23% compared to 2024.
This decline, according to Actiris spokesperson Nora Ed-Daoui, is visible in roles requiring higher education. She noted that the vacancies for highly educated people have fallen by 34%, highlighting a growing pressure on job seekers.
Ed-Daoui explained that political instability has also influenced recruitment. "The non-profit sector has also been affected by the instability of public subsidies, late payments, non-renewed budgets, and rising operating costs."
Another reason for this struggle, according to Ed-Daoui, is the mismatch between job seekers and available roles. While Brussels’ economy is largely service-oriented and demands highly specialised profiles, a significant share of job seekers either have a degree that is not recognised in Belgium or lower qualifications.
De Graef also pointed to shifts within the market, observing that employees in some sectors, such as consulting and IT, are moving away from freelance, project-based work in search of internal roles.
"There are different reasons," he said. "Budgets are under pressure, and volumes are getting lower. Many people who previously moved into freelance roles are now going in the opposite direction, looking for permanent positions because the market is really tough."
*The name of Olivia Bennet has been changed to preserve her job status and potential employment prospects.
