On September 30, 2026, 219,430 unemployed job seekers (WZW) residing in Flanders were registered with VDAB. This represents a 3% decrease compared to September 2025. The unemployment rate stood at 6.7% in September 2026, which is 0.2 percentage points lower than one year prior.
Due to the time limitation of unemployment benefits, the number of job seekers with a benefit claim has fallen sharply. Between September 2025 and September 2026, this number decreased by 19%.
Over the same period, the number of formerly not-economically active job seekers increased by 23%. This group also includes individuals who recently received unemployment benefits.
