Employment: 70% target, enhanced activation and bilingualism

DPR Commitments

The Regional Policy Declaration of 13 February 2026 sets ambitious employment targets:

• Target: 70% employment rate by the end of the parliamentary term (vs 63.9% in 2025, Statbel LFS annual)
• Enhanced activation of jobseekers
• Mandatory skills assessment for all jobseekers
• Language assessment upon registration, mandatory FR/NL training if skills are absent
• Promotion of bilingualism as a lever for employment access
• Dedicated Actiris unit for the Urban Free Zones (Port of Brussels + Audi Forest site): targeted support for industrial and logistics occupations in both zones

These measures respond to the inherited double crisis: the federal unemployment reform (42,000 exclusions) and the structural rise in Brussels unemployment (96,113 jobseekers in March 2026, after a peak of 98,458 in January). The gap between the 70% target and the 2025 level of 63.9% represents a required gain of more than 6 points within one parliamentary term.

Structural diagnostic: the scale of the challenge (Itinera study, 2006-2022)

The study "80% employment in Belgium" by the Itinera Institute (Jean Hindriks, UCLouvain), based on exhaustive administrative data from 2006 to 2022, reveals the scale of Brussels' lag.

Structural employment rate (18-64, admin. data): Brussels has an employment rate of ~55%, compared to ~74% in Flanders and ~65% in Wallonia. None of the 19 Brussels municipalities exceeds the European average of 74.1%. The north-south canal divide remains stark.

Gender stagnation: Between 2006 and 2022, women's employment in Brussels made zero progress (0%), while it rose +20.6% in Flanders and +11.9% in Wallonia. For men, the situation worsened (−5.8%). Brussels is the only region with this double-negative profile.

Youth dropout: Only ~25% of 18-24 year-olds in Brussels are employed (vs ~40% in Flanders). Crucially, youth unemployment is not converting into employment but into inactivity — these individuals are leaving the labour market entirely.

Massive inactivity: 34.4% of the working-age population is inactive in Brussels (1 in 3), compared to 1 in 4 in Wallonia and 1 in 5 in Flanders. Women of non-EU origin show a gap of up to 25 percentage points compared to Belgian women.

Childcare infrastructure: Brussels has only 18 childcare places per 100 children, a ratio that mechanically constrains female employment.

The gap between the DPR's 70% target and the structural reality of ~55% represents a 15-point challenge — well beyond the 6 points measured by the Statbel Labour Force Survey (63.9% in 2025). This difference is explained by methodology: administrative data are exhaustive, while the LFS relies on a sample with significant local margins of error.

Source: Itinera Institute — "80% employment in Belgium: where do we really stand?" (Hindriks & Douieb, admin. data 2006-2022).

Unemployment March 2026: decline to 96,113 jobseekers after January peak

In March 2026, the Brussels Region had 96,113 registered jobseekers, corresponding to an administrative unemployment rate of 15.0% (+0.67 points year-on-year). This is a decline of −1,746 persons (−1.8%) from February (97,859) and −2,345 from the January peak (98,458). However, the yearly increase remains significant by age group: +9.1% for under-25s (+910 persons), +6.6% for 25-49s (+3,796), +5.5% for 50+ (+1,254).

At the end of February 2026, 20,792 jobseekers (21.2% of the total) depended on a CPAS, up +17.5% year-on-year — a key indicator of the cumulative pressure of the federal unemployment reform on Brussels CPAS centres.

Actiris warns that a "major statistical break" is imminent: the time-limiting of unemployment benefits will alter administrative categories and make time series partially incomparable from summer 2026 onward.

Sources: Actiris — Monthly figures (3 April 2026); DH (5 March 2026).

Median salary: Brussels leads, growing gap (March 2026)

The 2026 SD Worx salary barometer (400,000 payslips analysed) reveals that the median gross salary in Brussels reaches €4,200/month, compared to €3,585 in Flanders and €3,270 in Wallonia. Over five years, Brussels wage growth (+29%, from €3,256 in 2021) outpaces Flanders (+24%) and Wallonia (+22%).

This salary gap reflects the concentration of skilled jobs in the tertiary sector (EU institutions, financial sector, business services) but does not indicate real purchasing power, as housing and living costs are higher in Brussels. It coexists with an administrative unemployment rate of 15.0% (March 2026) and a structural employment rate of ~55%, illustrating the dual nature of the Brussels labour market.

Source: SD Worx / Trends-Tendances, March 2026.

Non-profit employment: ACS under pressure

The Subsidised Contract Workers (ACS) scheme — ~10,000 positions, ~6,700 active, consolidated budget €276M in 2026 — remains the main lever for subsidised employment in the Brussels Region. No new positions have been created since 2007. The reform launched in 2015 shifts the tool from structural support to activation policy, a move contested by the non-profit sector. On 3 February 2026, hundreds of non-profit workers demonstrated in Brussels for a sectoral social agreement. The RPD 2026 mentions the "continuation of ACS reform". The adjusted budget of 16 April 2026 (see below) preserves article 20 and drops the 95% harmonisation. See the dedicated dossier for the full analysis.

Additional employment commitments (DPR, chapter 5)

The DPR contains additional operational commitments:

• Single file for jobseeker support: centralising follow-up between Actiris, Bruxelles Formation and partners
• ALE reform (Local Employment Agencies): modernisation of local employment schemes
• Abolition of the Actiris evaluation board: governance simplification
• Anti-discrimination testing in recruitment: mechanism to monitor discriminatory hiring practices
• Vocational training master plan: development plan for the training offer
• Social economy: regional plan for social economy development

These commitments have not yet been translated into implementation measures.

Structural context: Mini-Bru IBSA 2026

The Mini-Bru 2026 (BISA/perspective.brussels) provides structural data on the Brussels labour market:

The DPR target is an employment rate of 70% — a gap of 11.1 points vs the Mini-Bru 2024 baseline. The ILO unemployment rate (11.9% in 2024, 12.7% in 2025 per Statbel annual) differs from the Actiris rate (15.0% in March 2026) because it is based on a survey (people actively seeking work) rather than administrative data (registered jobseekers).

Among registered jobseekers, 41,652 people (45%) have been unemployed for more than 2 years — a particularly high indicator of structural unemployment.

Source: BISA Mini-Bru 2026 (Statbel LFS, Actiris, 2024 data).

Bruxelles Formation: 15,909 trained in 2025

Bruxelles Formation supported 15,909 jobseekers in 2025, an increase of +1.5% compared to 2024. The employment outcome rate after training stands at 72%, a slight decrease from 2024 (75%).

These results come in a context of high unemployment (96,113 jobseekers in March 2026, after a peak of 98,458 in January) and an expected influx to CPAS linked to the federal unemployment reform. The DPR provides for a "vocational training master plan" whose contours have not yet been specified.

Source: DH / Bruxelles Formation (17 March 2026).

Actiris leadership: transition underway (28 March 2026)

On 28 March 2026, Cristina Amboldi resigned as Director-General of Actiris with immediate effect. Appointed on a temporary basis in November 2025 (6-month mandate), she told Le Soir that "the framework for exercising the function no longer aligns with [her] vision" and that she was "never consulted" about the budget cuts. The breaking point: the rejection of her 2026 budget by the board of directors on 27 March.

Deputy Director-General Caroline Mancel also reaches the end of her term on 1 April 2026. The management committee ensures operational continuity. A recruitment process for both positions will be launched shortly.

The opposition (PTB-PVDA, Ecolo, DéFI) denounced the impact of the EUR 40 million in austerity cuts initially imposed on Actiris on public service quality, in a context of unemployment reform (42,000 exclusions) and a 70% employment target.

Source: BRUZZ / Le Soir / BX1 (28-30 March 2026). Confidence: official (Hublet cabinet + Amboldi interview).

Adjusted Actiris 2026 budget (16 April 2026)

Three weeks after the Management Committee rejected the first version (26 March) and Amboldi resigned (30 March), the Brussels government reached an agreement on Thursday 16 April 2026 on an adjusted Actiris 2026 budget. According to Employment Minister Laurent Hublet (Les Engagés), the initial €40 million savings effort on employment policies is reduced to approximately €28 million in 2026 (−€12M). Concessions obtained:

• First Employment Agreements (CPE): significant share maintained in Brussels administrations, "given the difficulties in accessing employment faced by many young people"
• Article 20 of the ACS scheme: preserved — no suppression of the derogation mechanism
• 95% harmonisation of ACS positions: dropped — differentiated rates maintained
• Actiris partnerships policy: integral ambitions maintained, €67M preserved
• Consolidated ACS budget: €276M in 2026

The Activa.brussels premium is confirmed abolished, replaced by a new scheme in 2027. The government cites a study showing its beneficiaries were mostly non-Brussels residents. Florence Lepoivre (FGTB Brussels) calls the Activa reform "perhaps the least problematic measure"; Julie Lambotte (UCM Brussels) stresses the need for a careful transition to the future scheme. The adjusted budget still needs to be presented to the Actiris Management Committee and translated into a regional budget adjustment voted by the Brussels Parliament.

Sources: RTBF (16 April 2026); Guide Social (27 March 2026); BX1 (Activa premiums).

Platform Worker Reclassification

On 13 June 2025, the Brussels Labour Court reclassified an Uber driver as an employee (not self-employed), citing the lack of genuine economic risk, the inability to set prices, and control through geolocation. While limited to the individual case, this decision is part of growing case law on platform worker status.

Source: Brussels Labour Court, 13 June 2025; Claeys & Engels.