181 bankruptcies in week 38

Enterprises
181 bankruptcies in week 38

During the week from 20 to 26 September included (week 38), the business courts pronounced 181 bankruptcies, resulting in a total of 257 job losses.

The figures for week 38 reveal a stabilisation of the number of bankruptcies and an increase in the number of job losses compared to the previous week.

During the first 38 weeks of 2021, the business courts pronounced 4,333 bankruptcies. This figure is 16.9% lower than in the first 38 weeks of 2020.

Job losses per bankruptcy are also 11.5% lower in 2021 than in the previous year. During the first 38 weeks of 2021, 2.19 jobs were lost per bankruptcy while this ratio amounted to 2.47 in the same period in 2020.

The number of bankruptcies and job losses for the first 38 weeks of the year

Category 2019 2020 2021 2021/2020 2021/2019
Bancruptcies 7,562 5,212 4,333 -16.86% -42.70%
Job losses 14,672 12,896 9,493 -26.39% -35.30%
Job losses/Bancruptcies 1.94 2.47 2.19 -11.46% +12.92%

This is what emerged from the weekly bankruptcy figures produced by Statbel based on the orders of business courts. These interim weekly estimates make it possible to quickly observe the first trends.