Job Market: Bankruptcies and job losses are on the rise again

The National Statistical Office Statbel has published figures on the labor market and company court rulings in our country. Although it was worse a few years ago – before the pandemic – the number of bankruptcies has risen sharply.

NumbersOn a weekly basis, the number of bankruptcies in our country is down, Statbel knows. During the week of August 7-13, corporate courts declared 59 bankruptcies, compared to 77 the previous week. If we look at the bigger picture we see a different picture.

Close to the sad record of 2019

• During the first 32 weeks of this year, 6,095 bankruptcies were declared. This is a lot, because in the same period in 2022 “only” 5646 were registered. An increase of 8% if we compare the first eight months of the year with the previous year.
• The number of bankruptcies in the first 32 weeks of 2023 is also higher than in 2021 (3,657) and 2020 (4,488).
• We’re getting close to the numbers for 2019, when 6,564 bankruptcies were reported, although that’s still 7.1% less, says Staple.
• In terms of the number of jobs lost, it’s about the same: 17,506 in the first 32 weeks of 2023, compared to 17,570 in 2019. That’s just 0.4% less than the peak of the past four years.
• However, there is a very large annual increase: in the same period of 2022, 13,186 jobs were lost due to bankruptcies. So this year we’re seeing an increase of 32.8%.

In terms of employment, the agency’s monthly figures show an activity rate of 71.5% for the Belgian population between the ages of 20 and 64. The unemployment rate for those between the ages of 15 and 64 is 5.2%.

• It should be noted that this is an estimate. This is based on a survey of 9,000 people between the ages of 15 and 89 in June 2023, distributed evenly across the country. (ddw)