Youth unemployment rate nears 20% in the third quarter of 2024
Among 15-24-year-olds active in the Belgian labour market, almost a fifth, or 19.9%, were unemployed in the third quarter of 2024. In the third quarter of 2023, it was 18.7%, and 16.1% in the second quarter of 2024. The increase is a result of new graduates actively looking for jobs. This is what emerged from the latest results of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) published by Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.
The overall ILO unemployment rate is also rising, from 5.4% in the second quarter to 6% in third quarter. The Belgian employment rate remains fairly stable in the third quarter, at 72.3%, compared to the second quarter. The number of employed people in the third quarter 2024 is estimated at 5,069,000 and the number of ILO unemployed people at 320,000.
You will find more details below, with the evolutions per gender, age group, region and level of education.
72.3% of people aged 20-64 are employed
In the third quarter of 2024, the employment rate of people aged 20 to 64 is estimated at 72.3%, a figure only slightly different from that of the second quarter 2024 (72.2%). In absolute terms, this means that in the third quarter of 2024, about 4,896,000 people aged 20 to 64 were in work in Belgium. If we look at the population aged 15 and over, this is 5,069,000 employed people.
The employment rate of men is 76.7% and that of women is, as always, slightly lower: 68.0% (Chart 1). So the employment rate remains fairly stable for both men and women.
By age, we see few significant evolutions in the employment rate (Chart 2). The percentage remains fairly stable for both the 20-54 and the 55-64 age groups: 76.1% and 59.5% respectively.
By region, too, we see no significant evolutions in the employment rate (Chart 3). In Flanders, it is estimated at 76.3%, versus 76.2% in the previous quarter. In Wallonia, it is 67.6% versus 68.1% in the previous quarter. In Brussels, the employment rate increased from 63.7% in the second quarter to 65.4% in the third quarter.
The employment rate of low-, medium- and highly-skilled people amounts to 47.3%, 68.0% and 86.2% respectively (Chart 4).
The unemployment rate amounts to 6%
The ILO unemployment rate increased from 5.4% to 6% between the second and third quarters of 2024. The increase is stronger among women than men, narrowing again the unemployment rate gap between the two genders (Chart 5). The unemployment rate amounts to 5.8% for women and 6.1% for men.
In absolute terms, there were about 320,000 ILO unemployed in the third quarter 2024: 145,000 women and 175,000 men.
The unemployment rate of young people (15-24 years old), which often peaks in a third quarter as recent graduates actively look for work, rises from 16.1% to 19.9% between the second and the third quarter of 2024 (Chart 6). That figure is still 1.2 percentage points higher than in the same period last year. Note that students who are neither working nor looking for work are not included in the unemployed population but in the inactive population.
The two other age groups are less subject to fluctuations than the youngest age group. The unemployment rate amounts to 5.3% in the 25-49 age group, and among people over 50, 3.1% of the active population is ILO unemployed.
In Flanders, the unemployment rate rises from 3.4% in the second quarter to 4.3% in the third quarter of 2024 (Chart 7). In Wallonia, the unemployment rate is estimated at 7.5% versus 6.8% in the previous quarter. In Brussels, it goes from 12.3% to 11.1% over the same period.
Looking at the evolutions by level of education, the ILO unemployment rate of low-skilled people increases from 11.4% to 14.1% between the second and the third quarter of 2024. Among the medium- and highly-skilled, we see much less movement in the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate in the labour force is 6.8% among medium-skilled people and 3.1% among highly-skilled people (Chart 8).
Transitions on the labour market
Based on the panel data available to the Labour Force Survey, we can also observe shifts or transitions in the labour market status of individuals. So we see that the number of unemployed people who remained unemployed between the third quarter 2023 and the third quarter 2024 is remarkably high this quarter. More information is available here.
Methodological note
The reported figures are estimations based on a sample survey. They are based on an effective sample of 27,000 persons (respondents) between 15 and 89 years old in the third quarter of 2024. This represents about 13,200 respondents in Flanders, 10,500 in Wallonia and 3,300 in Brussels.
The Labour Force Survey is a continuous survey, which means that the sample is evenly spread over the 52 (reference) weeks of the year. The selected respondents answer a questionnaire mainly related to their activity in the course of a given reference week. The data presented here reflect the averages for the quarter.
As the LFS questionnaire has changed since the first quarter of 2021, as have the ILO definitions on employment and unemployment, the charts presented here start from the first quarter of 2021 (and not earlier because there is a break between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021).
In spite of the large sample on which the figures are based, one has to take into account (as with all results based on a sample) a certain degree of uncertainty regarding the estimated figures. In order to increase readability, reference is not always made to whether or not certain evolutions are significant. However, it should be borne in mind that small evolutions from one quarter to another are usually not significant. Therefore, we recommend to assess the trends over several quarters, based on the reasoning that certain random sampling fluctuations are less visible in this way.
The confidence intervals for the employment and unemployment rates are available in annexes 1 and 2.
Definitions
The survey is harmonised at European level. The definitions regarding employment and unemployment that are mentioned (see tab ‘documents’) are those of the International Labour Office (ILO) to allow international comparison.
The employment rate of people aged 20-64 is the share of persons employed in the total population aged 20 to 64.
The unemployment rate of people aged 15-64 is the share of unemployed people in the labour force (employed + unemployed) aged 15 to 64.
Low-skilled people are people who have at most a lower secondary education diploma. Medium-skilled people are people who obtained a diploma of upper secondary education but not of higher education. Highly-skilled people obtained a diploma of higher education.
Annex 1: Confidence intervals for the employment rate of people aged 20-64 (Q3 2024)
| Estimate Q3 2024 | Confidence interval | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower limit | Upper limit | ||
| Belgium | 72.3% | 71.5% | 73.1% |
| Men | 76.7% | 75.7% | 77.6% |
| Women | 68.0% | 66.9% | 69.1% |
| Brussels-Capital Region | 65.4% | 63.1% | 67.7% |
| Flemish Region | 76.3% | 75.2% | 77.3% |
| Walloon Region | 67.6% | 66.2% | 69.0% |
| 20-54 years old | 76.1% | 75.2% | 77.0% |
| 55-64 years old | 59.5% | 58.0% | 61.1% |
| Low-skilled people | 47.3% | 45.1% | 49.4% |
| Medium-skilled people | 68.0% | 66.8% | 69.3% |
| Highly-skilled people | 86.2% | 85.3% | 87.1% |
Annex 2: Confidence intervals for the unemployment rate of people aged 15-64 (Q3 2024)
| Estimate Q3 2024 | Confidence interval | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower limit | Upper limit | ||
| Belgium | 6.0% | 5.4% | 6.5% |
| Men | 6.1% | 5.4% | 6.8% |
| Women | 5.8% | 5.1% | 6.5% |
| Brussels-Capital Region | 11.1% | 9.3% | 12.9% |
| Flemish Region | 4.3% | 3.7% | 4.9% |
| Walloon Region | 7.5% | 6.4% | 8.5% |
| 15-24 years old | 19.9% | 16.7% | 23.0% |
| 25-49 years old | 5.3% | 4.7% | 6.0% |
| 50-64 years old | 3.1% | 2.6% | 3.7% |
| Low-skilled people | 14.1% | 12.0% | 16.2% |
| Medium-skilled people | 6.8% | 5.9% | 7.8% |
| Highly-skilled people | 3.1% | 2.6% | 3.6% |
Employment rate, unemployment rate and activity rate by gender for Belgium and the regions, last 4 quarters
Access to latest statisticsEmployment rate and unemployment rate
Labour force survey (LFS)
Purpose and short description
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a household sample survey, conducted throughout the year. It is based on the responses of approximately 110,000 persons aged 15-89. Its main objective is to classify the population of 15-89 years into three groups (employed, unemployed and inactive persons on the labous market) and to provide descriptive and explanatory data on every category. This survey is also carried out in the other EU Member States and is coordinated by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In Belgium, the LFS is organised by Statbel. The objective is to obtain comparable information at European level, in particular as regards employment and unemployment rates as defined by the International Labour Office (ILO), but also to collect and disseminate data that are otherwise not available, for example about the mobility of workers, the reasons for working part-time, the various forms of part-time employment, the occupation, the educational level of the working age population, ... .
Survey population
Members of private households aged 15-89.
Sample frame
Demographic data from the National Register.
Data collection method and sample size
Data are collected through face-to-face interviews for the first wave of the survey. Since 2017, there have been three (shorter) follow-up waves to which households respond online or by telephone.
Households with only inactive persons older than 64 can also be interviewed by telephone.
Every year, around 34,000 households take part in this survey.
Response rate
On average, the response rate in the first wave of the survey is around 68% and in the follow-up waves between 90% and 95%.
Periodicity
Quarterly
Release calendar
Results availability: around 3 months after the end of the reference period.
Forms
- Labour Force Survey 2024 (PDF, 1 Mb)
Definitions regarding employment and unemployment
The survey is harmonised at European level. The definitions regarding employment and unemployment that are mentioned are those of the International Labour Office (ILO) to allow international comparison.
- People with a job (employed people) comprise all people who during the reference week performed some work ‘for wage or salary’ or ‘for profit’ regardless of the duration (even if this was only one hour), or who had a job but were temporarily absent. For example, one can be temporarily absent for holidays, illness, technical or economic reasons (temporary unemployment),....
Family workers are also included in the category ‘employed’.
Since 2021, people who have been temporarily unemployed for an uninterrupted period of more than three months are counted as unemployed or inactive, and no longer as employed.
- The unemployed comprise all people who:
(a) during the reference week were without work, i.e. were not in paid employment or self-employment;
(b) were available for work, i.e. were available for paid employment or self-employment within two weeks after the reference week;
(c) were actively seeking work, i.e. had taken specific steps during the last four weeks including the reference week to seek paid employment or self-employment, or who had found a job to start within a maximum period of three months.
Please note: The ILO unemployment figures are unrelated to any possible registration with the VDAB, Actiris, FOREM or the ADG, or to the receipt of unemployment benefits from ONEM (National Employment Office). As a result, they cannot be compared with administrative unemployment figures.
- The labour force is made up of the employed and the unemployed.
- The economically inactive population comprises all people who were not considered as employed or unemployed.
- The employment rate represents employed persons as a percentage of the same age population.
- The employment rate as part of the Europe 2020 Strategy represents the share of persons employed in the population aged 20 to 64.
- The unemployment rate represents the share of unemployed people in the labour force (employed + unemployed) within a given age group.
- The economic activity rate represents the share of the labour force (employed + unemployed) in the total population within a given age group.
The above indicators (employment rate, unemployment rate and economic activity rate) are the most important indicators for international comparisons of the labour market evolution.
Low-skilled people are people who have at best a lower secondary education diploma. Medium-skilled people have obtained an upper secondary education diploma, but no higher education diploma. High-skilled people have a higher education diploma.
Metadata
Survey methodology
- Modifications to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in 2021
- LFS: Methodological improvements to the Labour Force Survey 2017 (PDF, 99 Kb)
- LFS: Presentation of the survey until 2016 (NL-FR)
- LFS: Presentation of the survey from 2017 (NL-FR)