Belgium (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): Belgium’s economy is expected to grow by a small amount in 2024 and 2025, but it’s not growing as fast as they hoped. People are cutting back on spending, international trade is struggling, and there aren’t as many new job opportunities as expected.
In the recent economic report by FPB, Belgian families didn’t spend as much as was predicted this year, while international trade was also lower than expected. The government office projects a growth rate of only 1.1% for Belgium’s economy this year and 1.3% for next year. Their predictions have been lowered by 0.3% for this year and 0.1% for next compared to what they said in June.
What is the outlook for Belgian job growth?
According to resources, the economic forecast for September states that new job opportunities in Belgium are expected to decline as well, and the job fulfillment number increases for the period ending with 2025. FPB pointed out as a factor causing very little demand for new job creation: Business activity was weak in the first half of next year. They also warned that job creation may not happen in the second half of this year. In 2023, Belgium added 40,700 jobs, but this year they are only expecting around 15,800 new jobs, and in 2025, they predicted creating 24,700 new jobs.
It has been said that there won’t be an increase in the rate of jobs available since it stands at 72.1% for 2023 and 2024 but will rise slightly to 72.2% in 2025. According to FPB, it’s important to remember that not all older people are retiring; some are still working. This is because some young retirees are filling temporary job positions in Belgium. The FPB predicts that inflation will go up until the end of 2024, around 3.2%, but after 2025, it’s expected to drop below 2%. They also mentioned that the energy prices crisis will affect inflation, and by 2025, inflation should decrease because the government will reduce energy support.
