During the week from 26 December 2022 to 1 January 2023 included (week 52), the business courts pronounced 89 bankruptcies, resulting in a total of 172 job losses.
So the figures for week 52 reveal a decrease in the number of bankruptcies and job losses compared to the previous week.
Every year, the number of bankruptcies registered sharply decreases at the end of the year. This calendar effect also occurred last week.
During the 52 weeks of 2022, the business courts pronounced 9,202 bankruptcies. This figure is 40.9% higher than in the 52 weeks of 2021.
Job losses per bankruptcy are 11.1% lower in 2022 than in the previous year. During the 52 weeks of 2022, 2.42 jobs were lost per bankruptcy while this ratio amounted to 2.72 in the same period in 2021.
The number of bankruptcies and job losses for the 52 weeks of the year
| Category | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2022/2021 | 2022/2020 | 2022/2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bancruptcies | 10,593 | 7,181 | 6,530 | 9,202 | +40.9% | +28.1% | -13.1% |
| Job losses | 28,122 | 22,959 | 17,782 | 22,284 | +25.3% | -2.9% | -20.8% |
| Job losses/Bancruptcies | 2.65 | 3.20 | 2.72 | 2.42 | -11.1% | -24.3% | -8.8% |
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.