The number of hours worked by temporary agency workers in Belgium recorded a decrease of 9.64% in November 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 9.64% decrease was attributed to a year-on-year fall in activity of 10.93% in the blue-collar segment, and a decline of 7.99% in the white-collar segment.

Among regions, Flanders reported an annual decline of 11.46% in November. Broken down, by segment, the white-collar segment saw an annual decrease of 9.85% while the blue-collar segment fell by 12.59%.

The Wallonia region recorded a decrease of 7.12%. The white-collar segment saw an annual decrease of 3.02% and the blue-collar segment was down 9.63%.

Brussels recorded a fall of 4.65% over the year. The white-collar segment saw a fall of 7.98% but the blue-collar segment reported an increase of 4.70%.

In November 2023, the number of hours of temporary work performed decreased by 1.13% compared to the previous month (based on figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar influences). The decline can be attributed to a fall in the number of hours worked by the blue-collar segment (-2.84%) and an increase in the white-collar segment by 0.48%.

The Federgon index reached 90.99 points in November 2023 compared to 92.04 points the month before. The index shows the level of activity in the month under review compared to the activity in January 2007 (base 100), based on seasonally adjusted figures.

By region, Flanders saw a dip of 1.35% in November on a monthly basis. Broken down, by segment, the white-collar segment saw a monthly rise of 0.89% while the blue-collar segment fell by 2.87%.

Wallonia reported a decline of 1.84% over the month in November. The white-collar segment recorded an increase of 0.09% while the blue-collar segment reported a decrease of 3.49%.

Brussels reported a decrease of 0.29% in November when compared to the prior month. The white-collar segment reported an increase of 0.14% in November while the blue-collar segment saw a fall of 1.90%.

“The month of November also saw weak levels of temporary staffing activity. There was a slight decline compared to October, and compared to a year earlier, activity fell significantly. This trend was quite general across regions and segments,” Paul Verschueren, Federgon’s director research & economic affairs, said.