In 2025, an average of 9.6 in 100 inhabitants of Forest aged 18 to 64 received unemployment benefit as jobseekers — the 2nd highest figure of 564 municipalities (RVA/ONEM).
A year earlier, in 2024, it was 9.5 per 100 inhabitants aged 18 to 64: a rise of 0.1 percentage points.
Forest is 5.5 percentage points above the Belgian figure (4.1 per 100 inh. 18–64) and 2.2 percentage points above the figure for the Brussels-Capital Region (7.4).
Forest is in the Brussels-Capital Region (arrondissement of Brussels-Capital).
About these figures: source RVA/ONEM (National Employment Office) — full unemployment by municipality, reference period 2025, annual average; updated on .
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Jobseekers on unemployment benefit (2025) | 9.6 per 100 inh. 18–64 |
| Inhabitants aged 18 to 64 (1 January 2026) | 39,080 |
| Jobseekers on benefit (2025 annual average) | 3,758 |
| All fully unemployed people on benefit (2025 annual average) | 3,786 |
| Of whom artists on benefit (2025 annual average) | 877 |
| Population (1 January 2026) | 58,904 inhabitants |
| Average income (income year 2023 · tax year 2024) | €34,032 |
| Median house price (2025) | €640,000 |
| Crime figures (2025) | 83.5 per 1,000 inhabitants |
| Additional municipal tax on personal income tax (tax year 2024) | 7.0% |
| Municipal tax on property, as a % of the cadastral income (tax year 2026) | 49.9% |
| Average age (1 January 2026) | 38.6 years |
| Inhabitants with a non-Belgian nationality (1 January 2026) | 35.8% |
| Injury accidents per 1,000 inhabitants (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 inhabitants |
| Employment rate, aged 20–64 (1 January 2021) | 61.4% |
Reference date: 2025, annual average · Source: RVA/ONEM (National Employment Office) — full unemployment by municipality
In Forest, an average of 9.6 in 100 inhabitants aged 18 to 64 received unemployment benefit as jobseekers in 2025 (RVA/ONEM). That is not an unemployment rate: jobseekers without benefit are not counted and the denominator is the population.
Forest ranks 2nd of 564 municipalities for jobseekers on benefit per 100 inh. (18–64) (9.6 per 100 inh. 18–64), +5.5 percentage points compared with the Belgian figure (4.1 per 100 inh. 18–64).
From 9.8 per 100 inhabitants aged 18 to 64 in 2017 to 9.6 per 100 inhabitants aged 18 to 64 in 2025 (−0.2 percentage points).