During the week from 30 August to 5 September included (week 35), the business courts pronounced 67 bankruptcies, resulting in a total of 137 job losses. The figures for week 35 show that the number of bankruptcies and job losses has stabilised compared to the previous week.
During the first 35 weeks of 2021, the business courts pronounced 3,835 bankruptcies. This figure is 19.3% lower than in the first 35 weeks of 2020.
Job losses per bankruptcy are also 10.6% lower in 2021 than in the previous year. During the first 35 weeks of 2021, 2.29 jobs were lost per bankruptcy while this ratio amounted to 2.56 in the same period in 2020.
The number of bankruptcies and job losses for the first 35 weeks of the year
| Category | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2021/2020 | 2021/2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bancruptcies | 6,829 | 4,753 | 3,835 | -19.31% | -43.84% |
| Job losses | 13,450 | 12,158 | 8,771 | -27.86% | -34.79% |
| Job losses/Bancruptcies | 1.97 | 2.56 | 2.29 | -10.59% | +16.12% |
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.