The number of hours worked by temporary agency workers in Belgium recorded a decrease of 5.40% in January 2024 when compared to the same period a year ago, according to calendar-basis adjusted data from Federgon, the Belgian federation of staffing agencies.

The 5.40% fall was a result of a decrease in activity of 4.73% in the blue-collar segment, and a decrease of 6.22% in the white-collar segment.

Among regions, Flanders reported an annual decline of 7.86% in January. Broken down, by segment, the white-collar segment saw an annual fall of 10.76% while the blue-collar segment fell by 5.72%.

The Wallonia region recorded a decrease of 1.98%. The decrease was recorded despite an increase of 2.15% in the white-collar segment. However, the blue-collar segment was down 4.63%.

In Brussels, January data showed an increase of 1.96%. The white-collar segment saw a marginal fall of 0.55% while the blue-collar segment reported an increase of 9.06%.

In January 2024, the number of hours of worked by temporary agency workers decreased by 2.42% compared to the previous month (based on figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar influences). 

The decline can be attributed to a decrease in both segments. The number of hours worked decreased by 1.18% in the blue-collar segment and by 3.28% in the white-collar segment.

By region, Flanders saw a 1.85% decline compared to the previous month with falls in both the white-collar segment (-2.77%) and the blue-collar segment (-1.08%). Wallonia reported a fall of 2.16% with the white-collar segment recording a downturn of 3.20% and the blue-collar segment seeing a decline of 1.26%. Meanwhile, Brussels reported a 5.40% decline with falls in both the white-collar segment (-7.13%) and the blue-collar segment (-7.74%).