Belgium - Unemployment




Belgium: Unemployment

Mnemonic LBU.IBEL
Unit #, NSA
Adjustments Not Seasonally Adjusted
Monthly 1.89 %
Data May 2020 489,984
Apr 2020 499,407

Series Information

Source National Bank of Belgium - Belgostat (BNB)
Release Monthly Labor Statistics
Frequency Monthly
Start Date 1/31/1980
End Date 5/31/2020

Belgium: Labor

Reference Last Previous Units Frequency
Unemployment May 2020 489,984 499,407 #, NSA Monthly
Unemployment Rate May 2020 5.3 5.3 %, NSA Monthly
Labor Force Employment 2020 Q1 4,916 4,924 Ths. #, CDASA Quarterly
Primary Industries Employment 2020 Q1 59.3 59.4 Ths. #, CDASA Quarterly
Tertiary Industries Employment 2020 Q1 4,003 4,011 Ths. #, CDASA Quarterly
Total Employment 2020 Q1 4,916 4,924 Ths. #, CDASA Quarterly
Wage & Salaries 2020 Q1 57,755 59,226 Mil. EUR, CDASA Quarterly
Labor Force 2019 5,450 5,395 Thousands, NSA Annual
Agriculture Employment 2017 63,644 62,609 # Annual
Secondary Industries Employment 2017 554,078 551,125 # Annual

Release Information

Description

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.

Methodology

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.

Revisions

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