In our previous article, we discussed how the Belgian business sector continues to face pressure and how the number of business closures in Flanders actually exceeded the number of new business start-ups. We will now look at how the situation is developing at sector level. – Tommy Browaeys
To identify which clusters are struggling and which segments are still performing well, we compared the number of start-ups and closures (including bankruptcies) in the first quarter of 2026 with the same period last year. We did this based on the main activity according to the most general NACE code.
These sectors saw the largest absolute decline in the number of start-ups:
| Activity | Creations Q1 | ||
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86 – Human healthcare |
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64 – Financial services, excluding insurance and pension funds |
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41 – Construction of buildings, development of construction projects |
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01 – Crop production, livestock farming, hunting and services related to these activities |
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43 – Specialised construction work |
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90 – Creative activities, arts and entertainment |
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46 – Wholesale trade and commercial intermediary services, excluding the trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles |
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82 – Administrative and support activities for offices and other business activities |
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66 – Support activities for insurance and pension funds |
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47 – Retail trade, excluding the sale of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
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68 – Property management and property trading |
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56 – Places to eat and drink |
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71 – Architectural and engineering services; technical testing and analysis |
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In these clusters, we see the largest absolute increase in the number of discontinuations:
| Activity | Cessations Q1 | ||
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43 – Specialised construction work |
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96 – Other personal services |
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47 – Retail trade, excluding the sale of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
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81 – Services relating to buildings and landscaping |
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82 – Administrative and support activities for offices and other business activities |
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74 – Other specialised scientific and technical activities |
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45 – Wholesale and retail trade in, and maintenance and repair of, motor vehicles and motorcycles |
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01 – Crop production, livestock farming, hunting and services related to these activities |
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62 – Design and development of computer software, computer consultancy and related activities |
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85 – Education |
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90 – Creative activities, arts and entertainment |
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71 – Architectural and engineering services; technical testing and analysis |
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49 – Land transport and transport via pipelines |
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41 – Construction of buildings, development of construction projects |
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25 – Manufacture of metal products, excluding machinery and equipment |
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56 – Places to eat and drink |
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69 – Legal and accounting services |
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It is important to note, however, that the number of new business start-ups only stabilises after a few weeks. By deducting the number of closures from the number of start-ups, we obtain the net change in the business population for each sector.
It is in these sectors that we are seeing the sharpest decline in the active population:
| Activity | 2026 – Q1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
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47 – Retail trade, excluding the sale of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
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43 – Specialised construction work |
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46 – Wholesale trade and commercial intermediary services, excluding the trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles |
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96 – Other personal services |
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56 – Places to eat and drink |
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01 – Crop production, livestock farming, hunting and services related to these activities |
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71 – Architectural and engineering services; technical testing and analysis |
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45 – Wholesale and retail trade in, and maintenance and repair of, motor vehicles and motorcycles |
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74 – Other specialised scientific and technical activities |
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69 – Legal and accounting services |
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41 – Construction of buildings, development of construction projects |
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25 – Manufacture of metal products, excluding machinery and equipment |
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82 – Administrative and support activities for offices and other business activities |
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18 – Printing firms, reproduction of recorded media |
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Alongside the hospitality sector, which is invariably mentioned in negative reports, it is striking that the Belgian agricultural sector continues to shrink and that the downward trend is persisting in the construction industry. According to Niko Demeester, managing director of Embuild, these figures cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader context of near-stagnation in the construction and installation sector, which has persisted since 2022. “A stable and predictable policy remains crucial in this regard. Attractive incentives, smart tax stimuli, including a reduction in VAT on new builds to 6%, faster planning permission and greater investment certainty are essential to restoring confidence and entrepreneurship in our sector.”
Alarm bells are ringing in other industry associations too. For instance, essenscia recently announced that the Belgian chemical and pharmaceutical sector is at a tipping point, with a loss of 1,590 jobs, a fall in exports of almost 5% and hardly any new investment announcements. “If the structural competitive disadvantages are not quickly addressed, the sector risks missing out on a crucial investment cycle. This not only jeopardises jobs, but also undermines the industrial transition and increases the risk of growing dependence on imports,” they warn.
Since the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors do not appear in the lists above due to their low absolute numbers, we will examine them separately:
| Activity | 2026 – Q1 | ||
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20 – Manufacture of chemical products |
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21 – Manufacture of pharmaceutical raw materials and products |
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22 – Manufacture of rubber and plastic products |
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The downward trend is evident here as well, with the exception of the manufacture of rubber or plastics. When we examine the number of new businesses in that sub-category, we see that they are mainly sole traders. The job losses to which essenscia refers logically occur in the segment of SMEs and larger companies that employ staff. So just because they still exist does not mean they are not coming under greater pressure. Based on our indicator, which signals an increased risk of bankruptcy, we note that this is a cause for concern for 12% of companies with at least 10 employees.
Is that to say there is no good news at all? In these sectors, the number of players has actually increased by at least 100 over the past few months:
| Activity | 2026 – Q1 | ||
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86 – Human healthcare |
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70 – Activities of head offices and management consultancies |
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68 – Property management and property trading |
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62 – Design and development of computer software, computer consultancy and related activities |
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88 – Social services without accommodation |
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Even so, this growth is relative within the broader context. For one not insignificant detail is that growth for each of these clusters was between 7% and over 40% lower than last year.
We will continue to monitor developments during the second quarter of 2026.
Interested in more of our analyses and statistics?