Labour market research: Belgium
Belgium's labour market is split across Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. Each region has its own dynamics, vacancy rates and salary norms. The research tracks all three and publishes comparable cross-regional data.
Belgium combines a tight Flemish labour market (unemployment below 4% in most provinces) with higher structural unemployment in Wallonia and Brussels. Language, commuting distance and regional policy shape hiring patterns more than in most neighbouring countries.
IPMERC Research monitors scarcity, salary movement and time-to-hire per region. Fieldwork covers Dutch-speaking, French-speaking and bilingual respondents. Surveys are offered in both languages.
All findings are published openly. Fieldwork follows the GDPR statistical research rules (article 89). No individual answer is traceable.
Sectors under study.
What the research unit monitors in Belgium.
Logistics and supply chain
Belgium's position between the North Sea ports (Antwerp, Zeebrugge) and the European hinterland makes logistics a defining sector. The research tracks warehouse, transport and supply chain management vacancies across all three regions.
Pharmaceuticals and biotech
The Brussels-Leuven-Ghent corridor hosts major pharma R&D centres. Scarcity in regulatory affairs, quality assurance and clinical research is structurally high.
Technology
Software development, data engineering and cybersecurity. Brussels and Ghent are the main hubs. The monitor tracks salary differences between Flemish and Walloon tech markets.
Public sector and education
Regional governments and universities are major employers. Teacher shortages in Flanders and nursing shortages across all regions are tracked separately.
Recurring monitors.
Published openly after each fieldwork round. No paywall, no registration.
Cross-regional scarcity monitor
Vacancy-to-jobseeker ratios for Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, published side by side. Updated quarterly.
Salary tracker
Median salary bands by region, sector and seniority. The Belgian wage indexation system makes year-on-year comparisons meaningful.
Language and hiring
How language requirements (Dutch, French, English, bilingual) affect time-to-hire and candidate pool size in each region.
Questions about this research.
Do you cover all three Belgian regions?
Yes. Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels are covered separately and as a national aggregate. Surveys are sent in Dutch and French.
Is the data comparable to the Dutch monitor?
The methodology is the same. Sector definitions, seniority bands and scarcity calculations follow the same protocol, so cross-border comparison is straightforward.
How do I access the reports?
All reports are published on this site after fieldwork closes. No registration, no paywall.
Research in other countries.
The same methodology, comparable data.