Focus on the labour market in Belgium
4.3 % of all workers in Belgium say they are looking for another job. This is what Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, has found in a new series of figures on the Belgian labour market. This number amounts to 4.8 % for women and 3.9 % for men. Mostly young people (15-24), 25-49 year olds and highly-skilled people are looking for another job.
On average, 4,638,000 persons are employed in Belgium. This is what emerged from the key labour market indicators in Belgium for 2017, published by Statbel at the end of March. Additional data from the Labour Force Survey will be published today, including data on the search for another job.
Statbel also investigates the reasons why people look for another job:
- The main reason is: looking for other/better working conditions. It can be a higher salary, a better schedule or a job of better quality. This is the most common reason both for men and women to seek alternative employment.
- Women also want to find a job that better corresponds to their own qualifications. It is almost as important to them as looking for a job for other working conditions.
- However, men look more often for another job because they are afraid to lose their present job.
- Only highly-skilled people do not primarily look for other working conditions. For them, a better correspondence with their own qualifications comes first.
- An important reason for young people to look for another job is that they perceive their current employment as a transitional job. However, they are also most often looking for other working conditions, and then for a better correspondence with their qualifications.
- Other reasons to look for another job are: "looking for more working hours per week", "looking for a job in the immediate surroundings", "looking for an additional job to supplement the present one" and "looking for fewer working hours per week".
| Table 1: percentage of workers looking for another job (2017) | |
|---|---|
| Total | 4.3% |
| Men | 3.9% |
| Women | 4.8% |
| 15-24 | 7.2% |
| 25-49 | 5.1% |
| 50 years and + | 2.1% |
| Low-skilled people | 4.2% |
| Medium-skilled people | 3.7% |
| Highly-skilled people | 5.0% |
| Table 2: Main reason to look for another job (2017) | |
|---|---|
| Looking for better working conditions | 30.8% |
| Looking for another job that better corresponds to his/her qualifications | 22.5% |
| Afraid to lose his/her present job | 14.9% |
| Looking for a job with more working hours per week | 11.0% |
| Present job considered as a transitional job | 9.3% |
| Looking for a job in the immediate surroundings | 6.9% |
| Looking for an additional job to supplement the present one | 3.8% |
| Looking for a job with fewer working hours per week | 0.8% |
| Total | 100.0% |
| Table 3: Top 3 main reasons to look for another job (2017) | |
|---|---|
| Men | |
| 1. Looking for better working conditions | 33.6% |
| 2. Afraid to lose his present job | 18.8% |
| 3. Looking for another job that better corresponds to his qualifications | 18.1% |
| Women | |
| 1. Looking for better working conditions | 28.2% |
| 2. Looking for another job that better corresponds to her qualifications | 26.7% |
| 3. Looking for a job with more working hours per week | 12.6% |
| Table 4: Top 3 main reasons to look for another job by age group (2017) | |
|---|---|
| 15-24 | |
| 1. Looking for better working conditions | 27.7% |
| 2. Looking for another job that better corresponds to his/her qualifications | 24.9% |
| 3. Present job considered as a transitional job | 17.3% |
| 25-49 | |
| 1. Looking for better working conditions | 31.1% |
| 2. Looking for another job that better corresponds to his/her qualifications | 23.3% |
| 3. Afraid to lose his/her present job | 14.7% |
| 50 years and older | |
| 1. Looking for better working conditions | 31.9% |
| 2. Afraid to lose his/her present job | 17.1% |
| 3. Looking for another job that better corresponds to his/her qualifications | 16.5% |
| Table 5: Top 3 main reasons to look for another job by instruction level (2017) | |
|---|---|
| Low-skilled people | |
| 1. Looking for better working conditions | 31.8% |
| 2. Afraid to lose his/her present job | 20.5% |
| 3. Looking for a job with more working hours per week | 18.4% |
| Medium-skilled people | |
| 1. Looking for better working conditions | 37.0% |
| 2. Looking for another job that better corresponds to his/her qualifications | 15.6% |
| 3. Afraid to lose his/her present job | 14.7% |
| Highly-skilled people | |
| 1. Looking for another job that better corresponds to his/her qualifications | 31.3% |
| 2. Looking for better working conditions | 26.6% |
| 3. Afraid to lose his/her present job | 13.3% |
This is what emerged from the results of Statbel's Labour Force Survey. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) analyses the main characteristics of the employed, unemployed and economically inactive population. The sample of the Labour Force Survey is evenly spread over the calendar year, which means that all weeks of the year are surveyed and that the results for a given year reflect an annual average.
Because the Labour Force Survey was thoroughly reformed and modernised in 2017, this press release only contains the figures for 2017, with no comparison with the previous years.