During the week from 12 to 18 April included (week 15), the business courts pronounced 94 bankruptcies, resulting in a total of 204 job losses. The figures for week 15 thus show an increase in the number of bankruptcies and job losses compared to the previous week, where they had significantly decreased due to a calendar effect.
During the first 15 weeks of 2021, the business courts pronounced 1,777 bankruptcies. This figure is 35.9% lower than in the first 15 weeks of 2020. However, job losses per bankruptcy are 21.3% higher in 2021 than in the previous year. So during the first 15 weeks of 2021, 2.4 jobs were lost per bankruptcy while this ratio amounted to 2.0 in 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 15 weeks of the year
| Category | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2021/2020 | 2021/2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bancruptcies | 3,238 | 2,772 | 1,777 | -35.89% | -45.12% |
| Job losses | 6,813 | 5,582 | 4,342 | -22.21% | -36.27% |
| Job losses/Bancruptcies | 2.10 | 2.01 | 2.44 | +21.34% | +16.13% |