During the week from 28 December to 3 January included (week 53), the business courts pronounced 39 bankruptcies. This is the lowest number since week 16 (13/04 - 19/04). Every year the number of pronounced bankruptcies decreases sharply during the end-of-year period. So this calendar effect also occurred last week. These 39 bankruptcies resulted in the loss of 47 jobs.
During the 53 weeks of 2020, the business courts pronounced 7,210 bankruptcies. This number is lower than that of the same period in 2018 (-26.9%) and 2019 (-31.9%). These 7,210 bankruptcies resulted in a total of 17,875 job losses. The ratio of job losses per bankruptcy therefore amounts to 2.48. This figure is higher than that of the same period in 2018 (1.74) and 2019 (1.93). So there were significantly fewer bankruptcies in 2020, but comparatively more job losses per bankruptcy.
Evolution of the number of bankruptcies and job losses per year for the 52 or 53 weeks of the year
| Category | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020/2019 | 2020/2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bancruptcies | 9,865 | 10,593 | 7,210 | -31.94% | -26.91% |
| Job losses | 17,155 | 20,395 | 17,875 | -12.36% | +4.20% |
| Job losses/Bancruptcies | 1.74 | 1.93 | 2.48 | +28.77% | +42.57% |
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.