Some 499,813 workers were collecting temporary unemployment in Belgium in January 2021, according to figures published on Monday by the National Employment Office (Onem).
That corresponds to a 330.4% jump compared to January 2020 and is explained by the measures against the coronavirus that still keep some sectors slow or even stopped.
Compensated unemployment increased by 10.8% on an annual basis. Last January, 366,205 fully compensated unemployed job seekers received an allowance in Belgium, which is 35,650 more than in January 2020.
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Full unemployment is increasing less rapidly on an annual basis among women (+14,403 units or +9.9%) than among men (+21,247 units or +11.5%), according to Onem.
The number of fully unemployed on an annual basis increased more in the Flemish Region (+14.6%) than in the Walloon Region (+7.6%). In the Brussels-Capital Region, there was an increase of 9.7%.
In January 2021, there were 149,082 fully unemployed in the Flemish Region, 146,890 in the Walloon Region and 70,233 in the Brussels-Capital Region.
The Brussels Times
