A record 27,187 people lost their job in Belgium in 2024: the highest number of redundancies in a year ever.
Belgium also saw 11,549 companies go bankrupt, a figure that was only worse in 2013 and 2019.
GraydonCreditsafe, the financial research company that published the report on January 2, noted the 2019 figure was in part the result of new legislation that caused a number of firms to declare bankruptcy for technical reasons.
Last year, Flanders reported a record number of bankruptcies for the second year in a row, with an increase of 5.49 per cent compared to 2023.
In Brussels, the figure was up 15.08 per cent.
Wallonia saw an increase for the third year in a row, by 4.95 per cent compared to 2023.
Construction, transport and the automotive sector performed the worst.
The construction industry hit 2,627 bankruptcy declarations in 2024. Compared to 2023, which was already a record year for the sector, this represented a rise of 14.16 per cent, the report read.
Increases were also observed across various sub-sectors, including “general construction of residential buildings, other specialised construction activities, electrical installation work in buildings, roofing activities, development of residential construction projects”, the report revealed.
The transport sector, a relatively smaller proportion of businesses, recorded 675 bankruptcies in 2024. That marked an increase of 5.48 per cent compared to 2023, also setting a record.
Within the garage-owners sector, 442 businesses went bankrupt, reflecting a rise of 12.9 per cent, again hitting record levels.
In 2024, 15 companies employing more than 100 workers, based on their most recently filed annual accounts, went bust. In 2023 the number was six.
Last year, Belgium was rocked by a several large bankruptcies in the automotive sector, with the closure of bus maker Van Hool, costing 2,204 jobs.
The Audi Brussels factory closure left 3,000 people out of work.
German vehicle manufacturer Audi has said it would shut its factory outside Brussels by the end of February next year, media outlets in Belgium have reported. https://t.co/2cVBhNzpXQ
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 30, 2024
