Belgium’s temporary agency work hours drop 5.55% in December
Belgium’s temporary agency work hours drop 5.55% in December

main article
Belgium’s temporary employment sector recorded a decrease of 5.55% in December 2024 compared to the same period a year ago, according to the latest calendar-basis adjusted data from Federgon, the Belgian federation of staffing agencies.
The 5.55% decrease was also a decline from November’s annual decline of 0.69%.
December’s 5.55% decrease was due to a decrease in activity of 6.83% in the white-collar segment and a fall of 4.43% in the blue-collar segment.
Federgon’s data also found that in December 2024, the number of hours worked by temporary agency workers increased by 1.22% compared to the previous month (based on figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar influences).
This uptick was attributable to growth in both segments: the number of hours worked increased by 1.00% in the white-collar segment and by 1.31% in the blue-collar segment.
By region, the Flanders region saw a 5.82% drop on a year-on-year basis and a 0.89% increase over the month.
Wallonia saw a decline of 1.0% over the year and an increase of 2% over the month.
Brussels recorded the steepest decrease at 14.23% when compared to December 2023. On a month-on-month basis, growth stood at 1.17%.
The Federgon index stands at 89.26 points in December 2024, compared to 88.18 points the previous month. The index reflects the level of activity in the month under review compared to activity in January 2007 (base 100), based on seasonally adjusted figures.
“Although the seasonally adjusted figures for TAW (temporary agency workers) activity in December show a slight improvement compared to November, activity still remains well below last year’s level,” Paul Verschueren, director of research & economic affairs at Federgon said in a press release. “This concludes a very challenging year for the sector in terms of business cycle and labour market.”