In 2023, there were 141,238 fully unemployed people receiving compensation for more than two years, including 60,822 in Wallonia and 37,346 in Brussels. 52,700 Walloons had been receiving unemployment benefits for at least two years, at the end of May… compared to 80,000 ten years ago. That is a drop of 35% since 2014. A situation far from being a choice for some. Portrait of Françoise, a long-term unemployed person.
Belgium has no time limit on unemployment benefits, but can exclude unemployed people who refuse work or are not looking for enough. Recently, the president of the Liberals, Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR), winner of the elections, declared that he wanted to limit these allocations over time. But what does this imply for those first concerned?
Because, for some long-term unemployed, this situation remains far from being a choice. Françoise, 57, expresses her frustration about her job search despite her multiple skills. She confides: “I do not find anything. However, I am versatile, I have my license, I get by, I have completed multiple training courses.“
The fifty-year-old also denounces the lack of opportunity and the prejudices she faces as a middle-aged woman: “Every time they find little subterfuges to refuse me. They can’t tell me “I’m not hiring you because you’re a woman, because you’re old”.”
It should be noted that in Belgium, unemployment benefits are decreasing, and have become even more so since a 2012 reform. Initially, the unemployed can receive 65% of their final salary. But depending on age, the number of years worked, the unemployed will all approach a floor level which is the same for everyone, depending on their status (single, cohabiting, etc.).
unemployment
