One in four Belgian companies cannot fill vacancies, says Manpower study

About a quarter of Belgian employers have difficulty finding suitable candidates to fill job vacancies, according to a survey of 751 Belgian employers by HR services company Manpower. Exactly 24% of employers reported a serious "shortage of talent", nearly double as many as last year.

According to the Manpower study, the labour shortage has worsened since the financial crisis, which has contributed to an increase across all regions: Flanders (26%), Brussels (26%) and Wallonia (18%).

The occupations most affected by the labour shortage have remained the same over the last decade: skilled workers, commercial workers, technicians, accountants, finance professionals and chauffeurs are all in high demand. The Belgian employers surveyed attribute the shortage to a lack of technical skills (51%), available candidates (35%) and experience (27%).

"There is a growing polarization in the labour market between the candidates with too many qualifications sought by employers and those with too few," said Manpower managing director Philippe Lacroix (pictured) in a press release. "The talent shortage is a real problem that threatens the competitiveness of our businesses. And that shortage will only increase in the future as the economy picks up."