Flemish unemployment down

1 March 2007

BRUSSELS – The unemployment rate in Flanders last month came to 6.59 percent. That is a decrease compared to February 2005 (when it was 7.69 percent), and compared to the month of January this year (when it was 6.96 percent). Flemish Minister for Employment Frank Vandenbroucke reported this on Thursday.
The number of unemployed job-seekers came to 185, 686 in January, 15.3 percent fewer than the 219,313 counted in February 2005. Unemployment among Flemish men was at 5.55 percent in February, and 7.86 percent among women.

The largest decrease was among the people who have been unemployed for one to two years (down 37.5 percent). There were also noticeable decreases in unemployment for under-25s (down 25.2 percent) and 25 to 50 year-olds (down 18.9 percent).

There was an increase of 5.5 percent among job seekers 50 years and older, and an increase of 4.5 percent among job-seekers who had been unemployed for more than two years.

The number of unemployed job-seekers fell in all regions. The greatest decrease was in the Bruges and Hasselt regions.

Subject: Belgian news