There are now 8,600 people looking for work in South-West Flanders. That is a fifth more than a year earlier. This increase is also noticeable at Flemish and provincial level, but less strongly than in the south of the province.
The job seeker rate is now 5.8 percent. This may be lower than the Flemish average of 6.5%, but higher than the West Flemish figure of 5.6%. Menen has the highest figure, with 8.1 percent: only Ostend (12.1%) and Blankenberge (9.8%) are higher.