PHP Developer Hiring Trends in Ghent, Belgium

This report was last updated on Sep 6, 2025

Bence Gedai

Founder

I analyze live hiring data and tech job trends across Europe to give CTOs and Product Leaders a strategic edge. By tracking tens of thousands of open roles each week, I uncover which skills, roles, and locations are in highest demand — potential competitors, typical time to hire, talent pool sizes, and more to help you prioritize hiring, benchmark and stay competitive in a fast-moving market.

Key learnings from this report

The Software PHP Engineers job market trends in Belgium Ghent indicate a volatile landscape over the past three months, with significant fluctuations in job openings and closures, reflecting a potential tightening of the market.
The current talent pool size presents a challenging environment for hiring managers, as the number of job openings notably exceeds the availability of qualified candidates, underscoring the need for strategic recruitment strategies.
Ghent holds approximately 11% of Belgium's total Software Engineer job market, while Brussels dominates with 69%, making Frances crucial for attracting a tech-savvy workforce.
Companies such as i-mens, Canonical, and TieTalent lead the hiring landscape, emphasizing sectors like Civic & Social Organization and Information Technology, which are pivotal for Software PHP Engineers in Ghent.
With a median time to hire of 32 days for Software Engineers in Belgium, hiring managers must adopt streamlined recruitment processes to navigate the competitive job market effectively.

Number of roles opened and closed for PHP Engineers in Ghent in the last 3 months

In the past 12 weeks, the Software PHP job market in Belgium Ghent has demonstrated a variable yet intriguing trend. Jobs opened per week peaked at 5 in weeks 28, 29, and 30, while the lowest activity recorded was just 1 job in week 31. Conversely, job closures fluctuated significantly, with a notable spike of 4 closures in weeks 34 and 32. This dynamic landscape indicates a potential tightening of the market, with more jobs closing than opening during certain weeks. Such trends are crucial for CTOs and Engineering Managers in Belgium Ghent, who must consider these fluctuations when devising targeted recruitment strategies, especially when compared to neighboring European nations where demand for Software PHP Engineers may vary.

Who else is hiring for software Engineers in Belgium:

Company name	Country	Industry	Founded	# Job openings
i-mens	Belgium	Civic & Social Organization	null	123
Canonical	United Kingdom	Information Technology & Services	2004	95
TieTalent	Switzerland	Information Technology & Services	2017	75
Belgie Vacature	Netherlands	Human Resources	2011	44
Vivid Resourcing	United Kingdom	Staffing & Recruiting	2009	42
STIB-MIVB	Belgium	Leisure, Travel & Tourism	1954	37
KPMG Belgium	Belgium	Management Consulting	null	36
Keyrock	Belgium	Financial Services	2017	35
Aertssen Group	Belgium	Construction	1958	29
Sopra Steria	France	Information Technology & Services	1968	27

Here are a few specialized software agencies you can trust:

Want to get personalized matches? Get started

Talent pool vs job openings for Software Engineers in Belgium

How competitive it is to hire Software Engineers in Belgium

The software development job market in Europe presents a diverse landscape for Software PHP Engineers. In Belgium, particularly in Ghent, the count of job openings is notable, but the local talent pool may pose challenges for hiring managers. When compared to countries like Germany, France, and the Netherlands, the ratio of job openings to available talent suggests a tighter market in Belgium. Specifically, with job openings significantly outnumbering the talent pool, it is becoming increasingly difficult for CTOs and Engineering Managers to secure qualified Software PHP Developers. This trend highlights an urgent need for effective recruitment strategies to attract top talent in the Belgian tech sector.

Seniority distribution of PHP Engineer job openings in Ghent

Seniority Distribution of PHP Engineering Jobs in Ghent

In the Belgium Ghent software job market, the seniority distribution for Software PHP Engineers reveals significant insights. Mid-Senior level positions account for 46% of the job openings, followed closely by Entry level roles at 36%. Associate positions make up 9% of available opportunities, indicating a strong presence of mid-tier talent in the market.

Preferred employment type for Engineering roles in Belgium

In Belgium, the employment distribution for engineering roles reveals a strong preference for full-time positions, accounting for 91% of the job market. Contract roles represent 9% of available opportunities, while part-time positions make up a mere 1% of the engineering landscape. This data highlights the significant demand for Software PHP Engineers in a full-time capacity, a trend that hiring managers in Ghent should consider when strategizing their recruitment efforts.

Time to Hire Distribution for Software in Belgium

How long does it take to hire Software Engineers

The time to hire distribution for Software PHP Engineers in Belgium indicates a notable demand and hiring trend within the tech sector. A majority of candidates are secured within the 30 to 35 days range, highlighting a competitive job market. Specifically, 1,898 candidates were hired in 30 days, followed closely by 919 candidates in 35 days. The data reflects that while quick placements are common, hiring processes extending beyond 60 days are less frequent, as evidenced by only 354 candidates hired within this timeline. For hiring managers in Belgium, Ghent’s software PHP job market emphasizes the need for streamlined recruitment strategies to attract top talent effectively.

Expolore reports from other European Developer talent pools

Insights for hiring Software Engineers in Barcelona

The software engineers job market trends in Spain, particularly in Barcelona, indicate a competitive hiring landscape characterized by a talent pool ratio of 3.5 candidates per job opening.

View Report

Insights for hiring Software Engineers in Veldhoven

The software engineering job market in Netherlands Veldhoven is characterized by a total of 23 new software developer roles posted in the last 12 weeks, resulting in a net gain of only 2 positions after accounting for closures.

View Report

Insights for hiring Ruby on Rails Engineers in Italy

The Software Ruby on Rails Engineer job market in Italy exhibits a notable talent pool size with a significant number of job openings; recent trends indicate a fluctuating landscape with 11 new positions emerging, contrasted by a closure rate of 14 roles, revealing recruitment challenges.

View Report

View All Job Reports

Most popular cities in Belgium to hire Software Engineers

Top 5 cities in Belgium to hire Software Engineers

In Belgium, the distribution of Software Engineer job openings reveals that Brussels stands out as the predominant city, comprising approximately 69% of the total positions available. Following Brussels, Antwerp accounts for around 17%, while Ghent represents about 11% of the job market. This highlights the capital's significant influence on the software employment landscape, as illustrated in the accompanying chart.

Most sought after technologies in Ghent for PHP

Key technologies for PHP Engineers

In the evolving software PHP job market in Belgium, particularly in Ghent, several technologies stand out as critical to the skill set of successful candidates. PHP remains the dominant language with a frequency of 6,396, followed closely by JavaScript at 3,423, emphasizing the importance of front-end development alongside back-end expertise. MySQL holds a significant presence with 1,874 instances, reinforcing the demand for robust database management skills. Additionally, frameworks like Laravel and Symfony are pivotal, with frequencies of 1,344 and 1,122 respectively, indicating a trend towards utilizing these tools for efficient development processes. As illustrated in the accompanying chart, understanding these technologies is essential for hiring managers aiming to attract top talent in Ghent's competitive tech landscape.

Have a great project in mind?

We've identified 100+ world-class agencies, drop us a line if you'd like to work with them.