Challenges for the Belgian Economy: Mixed Performance and Threats to Competitiveness
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Firing on all cylinders? Not quite
In addition to household consumption, investment has remained volatile and has been impacted by a few large transactions in the shipbuilding industry. This largely explains the solid growth seen in the first quarter of this year. However, the contribution of net foreign trade to growth remains negative. This can be explained by imports holding up well on the back of solid domestic demand while the export sector is dealing with weak foreign demand and is also reflected on the supply side by the prolonged contraction in manufacturing activity (as detailed in the graph below). In short, the Belgian economy is not currently performing at its peak level. On the demand side, domestic demand alone is fuelling growth. On the supply side, only the services sector is still showing signs of growth as industry remains in recession.
We should also point out that the ECB's restrictive monetary policy is weighing on household investment in housing, which fell by no less than 4.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023. Nevertheless, activity in the construction sector continues to grow (+2.2% in the first quarter of this year), thanks to other developments in conversion, non-residential buildings and infrastructure.
Manufacturing sector in recession
Quarterly GDP growth decomposition, supply side
Threat to competitiveness
The fact that the Belgian economy has a less volatile cycle than the eurozone average is nothing new. As we are currently seeing, growth is more resilient in periods of economic weakness. Unfortunately, this is also accompanied by a lack of vigour throughout periods of recovery. In addition to factors currently impacting the eurozone economy as a whole (weakness in global industry, restrictive monetary policy), two key concerns are mounting in Belgium's case. These concerns are nothing more than the other side of the coin of the elements currently underpinning the solidity of the Belgian economy, but they could have a negative and lasting impact on growth.
Firstly, economic developments in recent quarters have led to a loss of competitiveness for the Belgian economy. The automatic indexation of wages has meant that they have risen faster in Belgium than in neighbouring countries. Negotiated nominal wage increases this year could narrow the gap between these countries and Belgium, but they will not fully compensate for it.
While the strength of the labour market is a good thing for the economy and the improved financial health of households, it is also currently translating into a decline in productivity. On the one hand, there are negative productivity gains within certain sectors. This is particularly evident within the manufacturing sector, where employment grew by 0.8% between March 2022 and March this year, while the sector's value added fell by 2.4%.
On the other hand, we're seeing a composition effect on productivity. A large number of jobs are being created in low-productivity sectors (leisure, healthcare, public sector), while fewer jobs are being created in high-productivity sectors – some of which are even losing jobs (the financial sector, for example). Since productivity is an essential factor in the competitiveness of an economy, recent trends are jeopardising the Belgian export sector's ability to maintain its market share.
