news
Brussels Economy: Key Decisions Ahead After 2025 Slowdown
After recording 0.4 percent growth last year and seeing the labor market weaken for the first time in over a decade, the region confronts choices on how to reach its 1.5 percent annual target.
How we reported this
Brussels recorded 0.4 percent economic growth in 2025, supported by construction and real estate while IT services declined and the Audi factory closure removed 3,414 jobs. The service sector accounts for 88 to 93 percent of employment, with manufacturing at roughly 3 percent. The region produces 18 percent of Belgium's GDP and supplies 17.7 percent of national employment through 550,000 jobs.
Recent Performance and Sector Balance
Construction and real estate provided the main lift to the 0.4 percent growth figure in 2025. At the same time, the loss of 3,414 positions at the Audi plant and weaker IT services limited the overall result. The heavy reliance on services, which employ between 88 and 93 percent of the workforce, leaves manufacturing at about 3 percent of total jobs and keeps the economy exposed when any single sector contracts.
Labor Market Deterioration
The number of employees fell for four consecutive quarters in 2025, the first such stretch in more than ten years. Unemployment rose and temporary employment dropped to levels last seen during the 2021 pandemic. These trends occurred even though Brussels accounts for 17.7 percent of Belgium's employment with 550,000 positions and nearly one-fifth of national GDP.
Outlook and Policy Choices
The 2026 outlook carries uncertainty from possible Middle East tensions that could lift energy prices and inflation. The regional roadmap nevertheless sets a target of doubling annual growth to 1.5 percent while raising manufacturing's share of GDP. Officials must now weigh measures to stabilize employment, support the dominant service sector, and expand manufacturing without relying on external conditions that remain outside local control.
Decisions on training programs, investment incentives, and sector diversification will determine whether the 1.5 percent goal can be met. The same data that showed four straight quarters of falling employment also shows the scale of the task: any recovery must reverse recent losses while addressing the narrow base that currently limits resilience.