Unemployment Rate in Belgium increased to 6.50 percent in May from 6.40 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Belgium Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

In 2024, the unemployment rate in Belgium remained nearly unchanged at around 5.49 percent. Still, 2024 marked the third consecutive decline of the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate refers to the share of the economically active population currently without work but in search of employment. The unemployment rate does not include economically inactive persons such as the long-term unemployed, children, or retirees.Find more key insights for the unemployment rate in countries like Luxembourg and Netherlands.

Key information about Belgium Unemployment Rate

• Belgium Unemployment Rate dropped to 5.80% in Jan 2025, from the previously reported figure of 6.00% in Dec 2024.
• Belgium Unemployment Rate is updated monthly, available from Jan 1983 to Jan 2025, with an average rate of 8.00%.
• The data reached an all-time high of 11.00% in Nov 1983 and a record low of 4.90% in Apr 2020.
• The data is reported by reported by CEIC Data.
• In the latest reports, Belgium Population reached 11.76 million people in Dec 2023.

Belgium - Unemployment rate was 6.20% in March of 2025, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Belgium - Unemployment rate - last updated from the EUROSTAT on July of 2025. Historically, Belgium - Unemployment rate reached a record high of 8.90% in March of 2015 and a record low of 5.10% in March of 2020.

In 2022, the unemployment rate in Belgium was 5.6 percent. This is a slight decrease in comparison to the previous year, and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the last ten years. Unemployment peaked in 2014 and 2015, at 8.6 percent. In 2022, there were around 293 thousand unemployed persons in Belgium.

Unemployment per region  

Unemployment in Belgium differed from region to region. The unemployment rate was lowest in the Flemish Region, the Dutch-speaking part of the country. In 2021, unemployment reached 3.9 percent there. By comparison, in the Brussels-Capital Region the share of people without employment was nearly four times as high, at 12.5 percent.

Forecast for 2022

 For 2022, an increase in the unemployment rate in Flanders was foreseen. According to a recent forecast, the unemployment rate would rise from just below six percent in 2019, to 8.2 percent in 2022. Between 2023 and 2025, the unemployment rate in Flanders was expected to decrease again.

Historical chart and dataset showing Belgium unemployment rate by year from 1991 to 2024.

In 2022, the rate of unemployment in Belgium was 5.6 percent. However, there were real regional differences within the country. The Flemish region did particularly well economically, with an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent in 2022. By comparison: unemployment was more than twice as high in the Walloon Region, and over three times as high in the Brussels-Capital Region.

 Number of unemployed per region  

Although Flanders had the lowest unemployment rate of all three regions, the actual number of unemployed people reached over 119.7 thousand in 2021. The Brussels-Capital Region, which had the highest unemployment rate, counted only 67.5 thousand unemployed people that year. This is mainly a result of a demographic imbalance: the Flemish region has nearly twice as many inhabitants as the Walloon Region, and over five times as many as the Brussels-Capital Region.

Unemployment forecasts  

According to a recent forecast, the unemployment rate in Belgium was expected to decrease even further in 2020, to just under six percent. The Federal Plan Agency predicted a similar trend, with the number of unemployed people in Belgium falling from nearly 560,000 in 2017 to around 402,000 in 2024. As can be seen, unemployment figures exceeded expectations in 2020.

The youth unemployment rate in Belgium increased by 0.6 percentage points (+3.72 percent) in 2024 in comparison to the previous year. In total, the youth unemployment rate amounted to 16.75 percent in 2024. This increase was preceded by a declining youth unemployment rate.The youth unemployment rate refers to the share of the economically active population aged 15 to 24 currently without work but in search of employment. The youth unemployment rate does not include economically inactive persons such as the long-term unemployed or full-time students.Find more key insights for the youth unemployment rate in countries like Luxembourg and Netherlands.

Youth Unemployment Rate in Belgium remained unchanged at 17.40 percent in March. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Belgium Youth Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The Belgian labor market faced age and gender differences in 2022. The unemployment rate in Belgium was higher in the male population than in the female population. Furthermore, unemployment was higher in the young population, regardless of gender. In Belgium, a young male was not only more likely to be unemployed as someone older, but also when compared to a same-age female. The unemployment rate in Belgium was 5.6 percent in 2022 and was gradually decreasing since 2015. However, the unemployment rate was unevenly spread throughout the country, some regions having a higher unemployment rate than others.

Unemployment inequalities in Belgium

In the Benelux, Belgium had the highest unemployment rate compared to Luxembourg and the Netherlands in 2018. That year, the number of unemployed people reached 300 thousand people in Belgium. Although a lower unemployment rate was found in Belgium’s young male population, it is not a clear sign that one group is better off than another in the labor market. Information concerning the time length of unemployment, the share of part-time employment, or even the share of discouraged jobseekers should be considered. In 2019, over half of Belgian respondents believed that not enough is being done to achieve equal rights between men and women regarding business.

Employment benefit in Belgium

For Belgians to obtain unemployment benefits, they must fulfill certain conditions. Firstly, they must be over 18 years of age and not old enough for retirement. Secondly, they must not be employed or perceive remuneration. Thirdly, they must no be responsible for the loss of the previous job. It is also necessary that one’s state of health permits to work. Finally, to be entitled to unemployment benefit in Belgium, people must be actively searching for work, meaning that they are available for the labor market, as well as accepting any suitable job offer.

Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Unemployment Rate Male: 15 Years or over for Belgium (LRUNTTMABEQ156N) from Q1 1999 to Q1 2025 about Belgium, 15 years +, males, unemployment, and rate.

Belgium Unemployment Rate: 25 to 49 Years data was reported at 5.537 % in Dec 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 5.321 % for Sep 2024. Belgium Unemployment Rate: 25 to 49 Years data is updated quarterly, averaging 6.838 % from Mar 1999 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 104 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.443 % in Sep 2014 and a record low of 4.424 % in Jun 2020. Belgium Unemployment Rate: 25 to 49 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Directorate-General Statistics - Statistics Belgium. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Belgium – Table BE.G024: Unemployment Rate: Labour Force Survey: by Age Group and Sex.

Long Term Unemployment Rate in Belgium increased to 2.10 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Belgium Long Term Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In the second quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate in Belgium stood at 5.5 percent. This was a decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, when the unemployment rate stood at 5.7 percent. In the first quarter of 2014, unemployment in Belgium stood at 8.8 percent.

Belgium - Unemployment rate: Females was 5.30% in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Belgium - Unemployment rate: Females - last updated from the EUROSTAT on July of 2025. Historically, Belgium - Unemployment rate: Females reached a record high of 8.60% in December of 2010 and a record low of 5.00% in December of 2019.

Belgium Unemployment Rate: sa: Female data was reported at 5.400 % in Jan 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.500 % for Dec 2024. Belgium Unemployment Rate: sa: Female data is updated monthly, averaging 8.900 % from Jan 1983 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 505 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 17.300 % in Sep 1984 and a record low of 4.600 % in Aug 2023. Belgium Unemployment Rate: sa: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bank of Belgium. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Belgium – Table BE.G025: Unemployment Rate: by Age Group and Sex. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

Belgium Unemployment Rate: Female data was reported at 5.300 % in Feb 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.400 % for Jan 2019. Belgium Unemployment Rate: Female data is updated monthly, averaging 9.400 % from Jan 1983 (Median) to Feb 2019, with 434 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.100 % in Sep 1984 and a record low of 5.100 % in Sep 2018. Belgium Unemployment Rate: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bank of Belgium. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Belgium – Table BE.G016: Unemployment Rate: by Age Group and Sex.

The unemployment rate in Belgium stands at 6.2 percent according to the latest data from . That reading shows a decrease from the level of 6.3 percent in the previous month and an increase from the level of 5.3 percent in the same month of the previous year. The unemployment rate data in Belgium...

Belgium: Unemployment rate: The latest value from 2023 is 5.51 percent, a decline from 5.56 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 6.99 percent, based on data from 178 countries. Historically, the average for Belgium from 1991 to 2023 is 7.53 percent. The minimum value, 5.36 percent, was reached in 2019 while the maximum of 9.65 percent was recorded in 1994.

This statistic shows the unemployment rate in Belgium between 2008 and 2022, by age. In 2022, the unemployment rate was higher in the younger population. For instance, among the 15 to 24 years old Belgians, the unemployment rate was 16.4 percent.