Youth Unemployment and Health in Belgium

Abstract

Although a substantial amount of literature on causes, figures, trends, and consequences of unemployment in Belgium is available, relatively little has been written about unemployment among specific groups, such as youth. As opposed to the Dutch situation, a considerable lack of knowledge about objective health indicators is apparent in Belgium and inequities in health according to socio-economic variables have rarely been studied. This report provides the most up-to-date review of the Belgian debate concerning youth unemployment and health. The analysis of two different unemployment rates in Belgium and the analysis of data at different national and regional levels (Belgium and its regions Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels) causes overlapping and sometimes incomplete information and may interfere with a clear presentation of the statistical information on youth unemployment. Due to the fact that only a very limited number of studies on youth unemployment and health is available, this report includes several studies on unemployment in general and on divergent health-related topics. Moreover, no central database on (youth) unemployment and health is available in Belgium, and information is spread across a number of institutions and departments. It appears that especially scientific information on the Wallonian situation is difficult to obtain. Therefore, this report cannot be regarded as an exhaustive summary of all available information. Nevertheless, information from all major scientific institutions is included in the report so that it can be regarded as a thorough evaluation of the Belgian debate on youth unemployment and health.