The number of hours worked by temporary agency workers in Belgium recorded a decrease of 12.23% in August 2023 when compared to the same period a year ago, according to calendar-basis adjusted data from Federgon, the Belgian federation of staffing agencies.

The 12.23% fall was driven by a year-on-year decrease in activity of 13.35% in the blue-collar segment, and a decrease of 10.85% in the white-collar segment.

Among regions, Flanders reported an annual decline of 13.54% in August while Wallonia reported a fall of 10.68%. Meanwhile, Brussels recorded a decrease of 6.86% over the year.

In August 2023, the number of hours of temporary work performed decreased by 3.70% compared to the previous month (based on figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar influences).

The monthly decline was attributed to a fall in the number of hours worked of 4.33% in the blue-collar segment and a decline of 2.66% in the white-collar segment.

The Flanders region reported a decline of 3.68% while Wallonia recorded a fall of 3.60% followed by Brussels with a dip of 2.20%. 

Paul Verschueren, director research & economic affairs, said, “The temporary agency work activity experienced a fairly solid decline in the month of August. Activity deteriorated both compared to last month and to August last year. Job student activity also followed the downward trend.”