Belgium: a new ‘jobs deal’ including a controversial faster degression rate for unemployment compensation

In the night hours between July 23 and 24 Belgium’s select ministerial committee secured agreement on the 2019 budget, which in particular includes a ‘jobs deal’, which seeks to remedy certain inconsistencies that typify the Belgian labor market, namely with a high unemployment rate plus a low jobs rate on the one hand and a significant number of vacancies on the other. The goal is thus to direct job seeking and training towards those professions in need of manpower.
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28 measures to create 12,500 jobs in the professions with manpower shortages. On 24 July, and after initially gathering proposals from the social partners and employers bodies, Prime Minister Charles Michel presented the ‘jobs deal’. In it unemployment compensation amounts are set to ‘rise significantly’ but after a period of 6 months the compensation rate will fall off at an accelerated pace. Arrangements still have to be ironed out as does the issue of freezing the degression rate for jobseek

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