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 64.9% currently)
• 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 (97,859 jobseekers in February 2026). The gap between the 70% target and the current 64.9% level represents a required gain of more than 5 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 5 points measured by the Statbel Labour Force Survey (64.9%). 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 February 2026: nearly 100,000 jobseekers

In February 2026, the Brussels Region had 97,859 unemployed jobseekers (DEI), corresponding to an administrative unemployment rate of 15.3% (+0.69 points year-on-year). Youth under 25 saw an increase of +6.3% year-on-year. Notably, 20,792 people registered as jobseekers depend on a CPAS (21.2% of the total), up +17.5% year-on-year.

Actiris anticipates a "major statistical break" linked to the federal unemployment reform: from July 2026, the first mass end-of-entitlement waves (4th ONEM wave) will shift thousands of unemployed people to CPAS, mechanically inflating the number of CPAS registrants among jobseekers.

Source: DH / Actiris (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 unemployment rate of 15.3% 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, budget ~250M EUR — 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". 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 to close. The ILO unemployment rate (11.9%) differs from the Actiris rate (15.3%) 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 rising unemployment (97,859 jobseekers in February 2026) 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).

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.