National Bank predicts 120,000 new jobs in Belgium by 2019

The Belgian economy is looking forward to the creation of 120,000 jobs over the next three years, according to the National Bank of Belgium’s (NBB) latest forecast. Some 55,000 jobs have been created this year, and the NBB expects growth to be maintained or surpassed over the next three years, with the private sector picking up much of the job creation. Job creation from the public sector is forecast to fall for the first time in more than 20 years.

NBB governor Jan Smets described 2016 as a “grand cru” – the term used in the wine making to describe an exceptional harvest. The number of jobs created, he said, was the result of government decisions, including skipping the indexation of wages and other measures to bring Belgium into line with its neighbours in terms of competition.

The growth in overall employment is larger than the growth of the population, with the result that unemployment is forecast to fall from 8.2% nationally to 7.6% by 2019 – 56,000 fewer unemployed people in 2019 than in 2015.

Photo courtesy Unilin