The seasonally adjusted Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) increased to 56.7 points in July 2014, according to the report of the Hungarian Association of Logistics, Purchasing and Inventory Management (HALPIM). This figure is the best in six months and 5 percentage points higher than the reading of June 2014 (51.7 points). This indicates that compared to June the majority of enterprises are more optimistic with regard to their activities.
In the initial six months of 2014, the number of people in employment aged 15-74 years increased by 106 thousand. In Q2 2014, the number of those in employment was up by 190 thousand in comparison to the corresponding period of 2013, jumping from 3 million 931 thousand to 4 million 122 thousand. Thanks to the large increase, the employment rate improved to 54.2 percent.
According to the second estimate of data published last week in the flash report of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), the volume of retail sales was up by 4.9 percent in May 2014 in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year.
The Hungarian industrial sector continued to excel in May 2014: according to data compiled by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), industrial output gained almost 10 percent, more precisely 9.6 percent, compared to May 2013. Industrial output volume indices are up for the ninth consecutive month, since September 2013, with more than 10 percent month-on-month growth recorded occasionally this year.
Over the past two years, changes in several economic indicators have signalled that Hungarian economic prospects became brighter and the Government’s economic policy, which is aiming to turn Hungary into one of the most competitive countries in the regional and a growth hub, is bearing fruits.
According to the flash report of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) published last week, wages in real terms continued to rise dynamically in Hungary. Within the national economy, salaries in real terms were up significantly in April, by 4.2 percent year-on-year.
Following an upward trend in place for one year and a half, the seasonally adjusted GKI-Erste economic sentiment index reached a fifteen-year high in April 2014. Business expectations show improvement in June after a slight deterioration in May, but the consumer confidence index continued to decline this month. On the other hand, business and consumer optimism is still close to a multi-year high. The minor fall is seen to be a post-election correction, which has been also observed over the past years.
Over the past one year, Hungary’s default risk has improved significantly. In June 2013, CDS spread, the premium payable for protection against the risk of the Hungarian state’s default, was 342 basis points and following a downward trend this fell to 162 basis points by the end of June 2014.
Following the outstanding growth of 10.6 percent registered in March, in April 2014 industrial sector output gained 10.1 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2013. In the month of April almost every manufacturing sector division performed better, and in the initial four months of the year industrial output was higher in each Hungarian region. Accordingly, industrial expansion was sound from both a geographical and structural aspect. Output in the initial four months of the year was 8.9 percent higher year-on-year.
According to the flash report of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) published on 10 June, in April 2014 the number of tourism nights by domestic and foreign guests was up by 22 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Gross revenues at accommodation establishments – at current prices – soared by 12 percent. As a whole, tourism traffic was 14 percent higher year-on-year.