Unemployment figures “tip of the iceberg”

The true unemployment figures in Belgium are more than twice as high as reported, while the situation is in fact worse now than it was in the 1970s, according to leading Flemish economist Geert Noels, writing last week on his influential blog Econoshock. In November 2009, according to the latest figures from the benefits authority RVA, there were 321,911 people unemployed in Flanders – 7,000 more than in October and 27,000 more than a year previously.

However, the figures also show 214,510 workers whose employment was entirely supported by the RVA, and another 180,989 currently in technical redundancy, parttime unemployment, on bridging pension or using up time-credit, all of which are financed by the RVA. When these figures are taken into account, the true out-of-work total rises to 717,410, or more than double the official figure.

For Brussels, Wallonia and the country as a whole, a similar trend applies, accordinig to Noels:

Wallonia 281,176 official/498,881 real

Brussels 96,741 official/133,109 real

Belgium 699,828 official/1,349,400 real

“A benefit economy doesn’t have to be a problem if the government can support it, but it is not sustainable with a €20 billion hole in the budget,” Noels said.

In addition, the growing real unemployment figures cannot be attributed to the current economic situation, Noels claimed. “If you work from the real figures you see that things are worse today than they were in the 1970s. In fact, more people have moved on to benefits even in the good years of the last decade,” he said. “It certainly seems like a structural problem to me.”

www.econoshock.be

(January 13, 2010)