62% of people aged 55-64 are employed in the second quarter 2025
In the second quarter 2025, the employment rate of 20-64-year-olds in Belgium is 73.3% and the ILO unemployment rate of people aged 15-64 is estimated at 5.9%. In terms of age, we see that the increase in the employment rate of people aged 55-64 continues. The employment rate of people aged 55-64 amounts to 62.4% in the second quarter 2025, versus 60.4% in the first quarter. This is what emerged from the results for the second quarter 2025 of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) published by Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.
In the coalition agreement, Belgium has set itself the objective of an employment rate of 80% by 2029. In the second quarter 2025, 77.8% of people aged 20-64 are employed in Flanders, 68.4% in Wallonia and 64.4% in Brussels. The ILO unemployment rate is estimated at 3.8% in Flanders, 7.8% in Wallonia and 11.9% in Brussels.
You will find more details below per gender, age group, region and level of education.
73.3% of people aged 20-64 are employed
In the second quarter 2025, the employment rate of people aged 20-64 is estimated at 73.3%. In absolute terms, this means that in the second quarter 2025, about 4,970,000 people aged 20 to 64 were in work in Belgium. If we look at the population aged 15 and over, this is 5,177,000 employed people.
The employment rate for men remains stable at 76.5%; for women, we see an increase, with 70.1% of all 20-64-year-olds in work (Chart 1).
In terms of age, we see no significant change among 20-54-year-olds between the first and second quarters 2025, but among 55-64-year-olds, the upward trend of recent quarters continues (Chart 2). The employment rate among people aged 20-54 and people aged 55-64 amounts to 76.5% and 62.4% respectively in the second quarter 2025.
The employment rate in Flanders is estimated at 77.8% in the second quarter 2025, a figure that remains stable compared to the previous quarter (Chart 3). In Wallonia, we see an increase in the employment rate, which is estimated at 68.4% in the second quarter 2025 versus 66.8% in the previous quarter. The employment rate in Brussels is also evolving favourably, rising from 61.9% to 64.4%, which brings the figure back to last year's average level (average 2024: 64.1%).
The employment rate of low-, medium- and highly-skilled people amounts to 47.9%, 67.8% and 86.5% respectively (Chart 4). We see an increase among low-skilled people and a stabilisation among medium- and highly-skilled people.
The unemployment rate amounts to 5.9%
The ILO unemployment rate is estimated at 5.9% in the second quarter 2025. The unemployment rate for women is still lower than that for men: 5.0% for women and 6.6% for men (Chart 5).
In absolute terms, there were about 319,000 ILO unemployed aged 15 years and over in the second quarter 2025: 130,000 women and 188,000 men.
The unemployment rate of young people (aged 15 to 24) amounts to 14.5% in the second quarter 2025 (Chart 6). In the second quarter 2025, 5.2% of the working-age population aged 25-49 is ILO unemployed. The unemployment rate of people aged 50 and over is 4.9%.
At regional level, the unemployment rate in Brussels is falling again, after we observed an increase in the previous quarter. The unemployment rate there is estimated at 11.9% in the second quarter 2025 (Chart 7). We do not see any significant developments in Flanders and Wallonia: the unemployment rate is 3.8% in Flanders and 7.8% in Wallonia.
Looking at the evolutions by level of education, we see that the ILO unemployment rate of low-skilled people decreases from 16.8% to 14.5% between the first and second quarters 2025. Among the medium- and highly-skilled, we see virtually no change in the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate in the labour force is 6.4% among medium-skilled people and 3.4% 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. We see that four out of ten unemployed people in the second quarter 2024 are still unemployed a year later. More information can be found here.
Methodological note
The reported figures are estimations based on a sample survey. They are based on an effective sample of 24,000 persons (respondents) between 15 and 89 years old in the second quarter 2025. This represents about 11,000 respondents in Flanders, 9,500 in Wallonia and 3,500 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 2021, as have the ILO definitions on employment and unemployment, the charts presented here start from the first quarter 2021 (and not earlier because there is a break between the fourth quarter 2020 and the first quarter 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. This uncertainty stems, on the one hand, from sampling errors, which are random fluctuations due to the fact that the results are based on a sample. Had a different sample been drawn, the result would have been slightly different. The degree of uncertainty due to sampling errors is usually expressed by means of confidence intervals. The confidence intervals for the employment and unemployment rates are available in annexes 1 and 2.
We recommend to assess the trends over several quarters, based on the reasoning that certain random sampling fluctuations are less visible in this way.
In addition to sampling errors, results based on a survey are also inevitably subject to non-sampling errors. These can have various causes, such as interviewer effects, coverage errors and non-response bias. These types of errors are much more difficult to measure and quantify and must be evaluated on the basis of quality reports and information about the survey methodology.
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.
Annexes
Annex 1: Confidence intervals for the employment rate of people aged 20-64 (Q2 2025)
| Estimate Q2 2025 | Confidence interval | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower limit | Upper limit | ||
| Belgium | 73.3% | 72.5% | 74.1% |
| Men | 76.5% | 75.4% | 77.5% |
| Women | 70.1% | 69.0% | 71.3% |
| Brussels-Capital Region | 64.4% | 62.3% | 66.6% |
| Flemish Region | 77.8% | 76.7% | 78.9% |
| Walloon Region | 68.4% | 67.1% | 69.8% |
| 20-54 years old | 76.5% | 75.6% | 77.4% |
| 55-64 years old | 62.4% | 60.7% | 64.0% |
| Low-skilled people | 47.9% | 45.5% | 50.3% |
| Medium-skilled people | 67.8% | 66.5% | 69.2% |
| Highly-skilled people | 86.5% | 85.6% | 87.5% |
Annex 2: Confidence intervals for the unemployment rate of people aged 15-64 (Q2 2025)
| Estimate Q2 2025 | Confidence interval | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower limit | Upper limit | ||
| Belgium | 5.9% | 5.3% | 6.4% |
| Men | 6.6% | 5.8% | 7.4% |
| Women | 5.0% | 4.4% | 5.7% |
| Brussels-Capital Region | 11.9% | 10.0% | 13.7% |
| Flemish Region | 3.8% | 3.2% | 4.4% |
| Walloon Region | 7.8% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| 15-24 years old | 14.5% | 12.0% | 17.1% |
| 25-49 years old | 5.2% | 4.5% | 5.8% |
| 50-64 years old | 4.9% | 4.0% | 5.8% |
| Low-skilled people | 14.5% | 12.2% | 16.8% |
| Medium-skilled people | 6.4% | 5.6% | 7.3% |
| Highly-skilled people | 3.4% | 2.8% | 4.0% |
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 2025 (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)
- Note on the occasion of the publication of the data of Q4 2024 and the annual 2024 results (.pdf)