Labour market analysis for the first quarter of 2022
Last updated:
2/7/2022
The reduced impact of COVID measures on temporary unemployment, combined with economic recovery, resulted in a sharp increase in work volume, expressed in full-time equivalents (+5.8%).
The total or partial closure of many businesses affected the labour market in two key ways: a rise in temporary unemployment and the termination or non-renewal of temporary contracts.
By contrast, the termination of temporary contracts immediately reduced job positions, particularly in sectors reliant on short-term employment (temporary work, hospitality). As these jobs are often supplementary, the drop in employed workers was less pronounced, and the overall work volume decrease was relatively limited.
Methodological adjustment
In agriculture and horticulture, salaried employment mainly involves seasonal work under occasional employment schemes. As of March 31, 2022, job positions were up 1.3% compared to 2021, while work volume increased by 3.3% over the same period.COVID measures had little direct impact on industry and construction. Their evolution was more influenced by demand and supply chain disruptions.
The "transport equipment manufacturing" sector lagged, with a drop in job positions (-1.3%) and only slight growth in work volume (+0.8%).
Commercial services
retail and hospitality, heavily impacted by closures in 2021, experienced a strong rebound in 2022. Most restrictions were lifted in Q1 2022, allowing these sectors to recover.
Information and communication (+6% jobs, +8% work volume) and professional and technical services (+5% jobs, +7% work volume) showed strong structural growth. Administrative and support services also recovered sharply, driven by a renewed demand for temporary workers.
Non-commercial services
The strongest growth was in education (+1% jobs, +1.5% work volume) and healthcare/social services (+0.9% jobs, +1.7% work volume). The arts, entertainment, and sports sector rebounded significantly (+14.5% jobs, +41% work volume), returning to 2019 employment levels.
Demand for temporary workers rebounded strongly. By the end of March 2022, job positions increased by 12% compared to March 2021 (+13% for blue-collar workers, +10% for white-collar workers). Work volume also rose sharply (+10% overall; +13% for blue-collar, +6.5% for white-collar).Both private and public sectors saw job growth, but the increase was more pronounced in the private sector (+3.9% vs +0.5% in the public sector, adjusted for the methodological change).
Worker profiles
The strongest job growth occurred among younger workers, who were also hardest hit during the crisis. Work volume rose most sharply among workers under 25 (+11%), followed by those aged 25-39 (+5.4%).
The difference between job growth and worker growth (due to flexi-job increases) was most pronounced in Flanders. Employed workers increased similarly in Flanders and Wallonia (+2%), while Brussels saw a stronger increase (+3.5%).
