During the week from 15 to 21 February included (week 7), the business courts pronounced 116 bankruptcies, resulting in a total of 694 job losses. The number of bankruptcies is at a similar level as in the previous weeks, while job losses are significantly rising.
During the first seven weeks of 2021, the business courts pronounced 805 bankruptcies. This number is 40% lower than in the first seven weeks of 2020. However, job losses per bankruptcy are 21% higher in 2021 than in the previous year. So during the first seven weeks of 2021, there were 2.7 job losses per bankruptcy while this ratio amounted to 2.2 during the same period in 2020.
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.
The number of bankruptcies and job losses for the first 7 weeks of the year
| Category | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2021/2020 | 2021/2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bancruptcies | 1,323 | 1,352 | 805 | -40.46% | -39.15% |
| Job losses | 2,564 | 3,021 | 2,172 | -28.10% | -15.29% |
| Job losses/Bancruptcies | 1.94 | 2.23 | 2.70 | +20.75% | +39.22% |