However, the number of jobs lost went down from 4,053 in 2009 to 3,691 – though the bare figures do not show whether that’s a result of companies on the brink of failure shedding staff before finally going under.
Not all parts of the country are the same: in Antwerp the number of failures went up by 21%, whereas the total in Leuven fell by 14.6%. Within Flanders, the worst rate was recorded in Dendermonde (up 43% to 30 cases) and the best in Mechelen (down 56% to 18 cases) and Ieper (down 50% to eight cases).
The sectors mainly affected were business-to-business services, the car trade and garages. The road haulage industry, with an increase of 5.5%, showed a major increase. On the plus side, some sectors that are traditionally sensitive to fluctuations in the economy, like construction and catering, saw better results than expected.
Flanders Today is a 
11°C / 22°C
