Belgium - Unemployment

Unemployed persons are those persons aged 15 years and over who are without work; are available to start work within the next two weeks; and have actively sought employment at some time during the previous four weeks. 

The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force. The labour force is the total of the employed and the unemployed persons.

International standards: In accordance with the Eurostat recommendations, the unemployment rate is calculated according to the recommendations of the 13th International Conference of Labour Statisticians organised by the International Labour Office (ILO) in 1982. The use of the same definitions and concepts throughout the European Union ensures comparability of the results between Member States.

The standard unemployment rate published by the BNB is an estimate of the standard unemployment rate following ILO guidelines for the definition of unemployment, as adapted by Eurostat

Scope

• Geographical coverage: The whole country is covered.
• Population coverage: The population aged 15 years and over, living in both private and collective households, is covered.
• Topical coverage: Estimates are made separately for males under 25, females under 25, males aged 25 years and over, and females aged 25 years and over. Totals are obtained by adding up these four basic categories.
• Geographical coverage: The whole country is covered.
• Population coverage: The population aged 15 years and over, living in both private and collective households, is covered.
• Topical coverage: Estimates are made separately for males under 25, females under 25, males aged 25 years and over, and females aged 25 years and over. Totals are obtained by adding up these four basic categories.

Monthly data: end-of-month data.
Annual and quarterly data: average of end-of-month data.

Definitions:

• Unemployed (ILO): In accordance with the standards established by the International Labour Organization, the unemployed comprises persons aged 15 years and older who were: (a) without work during the reference week (b) currently available for work, i.e. were available for paid employment or self-employment before the end of the two weeks following the reference week (c) actively seeking work, i.e. had taken specific steps in the four weeks period ending with the reference week to seek paid employment or self employment or who found a job to start later, i.e. within a period of maximum three months. N (Absolute frequency)
• Unemployment rate: The unemployment rate is the number of persons unemployed expressed as a percentage of the labour force (employed + unemployed) aged 15 to 64
• Long-term unemployment: Consists of unemployed persons aged 15-74 who are looking for a job for one year or more.

Data are subject to revision, for a period of up to 12 months, because of reconciliation with a new annual labor force survey.