Advisory body calls on future governments to tackle unemployment
Belgium’s High Council for Employment (CSE), which brings together social partners and academics, unveiled its latest annual report on labour market trends on Monday. It shows that the Belgian employment rate remained below the EU average in 2023.
In 2023, the number of jobs created fell from almost 100,000 in the previous two years to around 41,000, the pre-pandemic average. Although the employment rate in Belgium is rising, it remained below the EU average in 2023: 72.1 per cent compared with 75.3 per cent in the EU.
According to the CSE, this lack of convergence can be explained by recruitment difficulties, working conditions and pay, a shortage of labour in certain sectors and insufficient incentives to join the labour market.
"There is a balance to be struck between safeguarding competitiveness and preserving purchasing power"
Faced with these challenges, the CSE has formulated a series of recommendations for the future federal and regional governments. The first is to improve the activation of jobseekers, with better support, reintegration of people with long-term incapacity for work and a review of the unemployment insurance system. The report points out, however, that such a reform “must not lead to an increase in the risk of poverty”.
It also proposes greater promotion of employment for people with low educational qualifications and calls for an improvement in skills “in response to changes in society”.
Finally, it calls for discussions on wage formation, raising the issue of wage indexation and the wage standard. “There is a balance to be struck between safeguarding competitiveness and preserving purchasing power,” the report says.
The High Council for Employment provides information and advice to the federal Labour minister, the Council's president. Its mission is to monitor employment policies and examine proposals to promote job creation.
A branch of Actiris employment agency in Brussels © BELGA PHOTO SISKA GREMMELPREZ
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