The number of hours worked by temporary workers in Belgium in January 2017 decreased by 0.92% compared to the same month last year, according to Federgon, the Belgian Federation of Staffing Agencies.

When compared to the previous month, the number of hours worked decreased by -2.05%. According to Federgon, the decrease is the result of a negative trend in both segments: the number of hours worked fell by -0.92% for white-collar workers while the number of hours worked by blue-collar workers decreased by 2.88% when compared to the previous month.

However, on an annual basis, the number of hours worked by blue collar workers increased by 0.42% while the number of hours worked by white-collar workers decreased by 2.7% when compared to the same time last year.

The Federgon index reached 257.5 points in January 2017 against 262.9 points in December. This index reflects the level of activity in the month compared with January 1995 (base 100 points), in seasonally adjusted terms.