At the end of September 2026, Wallonia, including the German-speaking Community, had 261,858 unemployed job seekers. The unemployment claims rate stands at 15.7% of the Walloon active population. Of these, 63,388 receive unemployment or integration benefits (24.2%). Young people in professional integration internships account for 20,807 individuals (nearly 8%), those registered mandatorily by CPAS number 61,416 (23.5%), and those freely registered with Forem total 116,247 (44.4%).
Compared to the end of August 2026, the number of job seekers remains almost stable (+0.3%). However, year-on-year, unemployment claims have decreased by 2.8% compared to September 2025, representing 7,587 fewer people. Several regulatory changes influence these statistics, including the expansion of job seeker support since 2022, the extension of availability obligations to individuals aged 65 since 2025, and the federal unemployment reform in 2026 limiting benefit duration.
The overall 2.8% decrease hides contrasting trends: the number of job seekers receiving benefits has fallen by 48.6% year-on-year, while the number of mandatory registrants has increased by 118.2% and free registrants by 39.6%. Only those under 25 (+1.8%) and 25-29 year-olds (+5.6%) saw an increase, while those aged 50 and over decreased by 10.6%.
Regarding job offer dissemination, Forem published 316,996 offers in the first nine months of 2026, a 5.2% increase compared to the same period in 2025. The most sought-after professions include long-distance freight transport driving, automotive mechanics, industrial equipment installation and maintenance, and building electricity. Temporary contracts represent 59.0% of the offers.
