Belgium unemployment benefit cuts

In early August 2026 Belgium’s Brussels employment agency reported a sharp 40 % drop in the number of people receiving unemployment benefits, while the overall unemployment rate rose to 15.7 %. The reduction in benefit duration forced many former claimants to seek help from public welfare centres (CPAS), with roughly 100 000 excluded workers turning to these services since the start of the year.

A day later data showed that more than half of the 99 166 long‑term unemployed whose benefits were terminated in 2026 applied for the social assistance allowance (leefloon). About 53 % filed for aid and 83 % of those applications were approved, meaning roughly 44 % of former benefit recipients now receive social assistance. Uptake was highest in Wallonia, followed by Brussels and Flanders. The shift has moved expected federal savings onto municipal budgets and drawn criticism of the policy promoted by regional leaders.

Together, the snapshots illustrate how the abrupt cut in unemployment benefits has rapidly pushed a large share of long‑term jobseekers into municipal social‑assistance programmes across Belgium.