“It is becoming increasingly worthwhile to work in Hungary; earnings increased by 11.6 percent during the first ten months of the year, which means an increase in real wages of 8.6 percent”, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga said.

The Minister said that the tangible increase in the minimum wage, the six-year wage agreement that facilitates private sector pay increases, and the career programmes being realised within the public sector are all contributing to the continuous increase in real earnings.

“Thanks to the government measures, the income of Hungarian families is continuously increasing, and the number of people in employment has exceeded 4.5 million”, the Minister said. As he explained, according to the six-year wage agreement concluded in November 2016, social contributions tax could fall by a further two percentage points from 19.5 percent to 17.5 percent in 2019, which further reduces the tax burdens on enterprises. “As a result, the reduction in employer taxes gives enterprises greater scope to realise higher pay rises in future for their employees”, Mr. Varga said.

“As a result, real wages could increase by up to fifty percent by 2022 compared to the date of the wage agreement, which further reinforces the growth of the Hungarian economy. In addition to the minimum wage, higher category salaries have also been increasing continuously in recent years. As a result, at national economy level by 2017 the real value of net earnings increased by an average of 36% compared to 2010, taking into account family tax allowances”, the Finance Minister said.

“Thanks to the career models introduced by the Government within the public sector, the salaries of hundreds of thousands of people are increasing and have increased in recent years. The salaries of teachers, healthcare workers, people employed in the social sector, and law enforcement employees have increased, and from 2019 we are also planning to rectify the salaries of local government officials and government officials working within central public administration”, Mr. Varga highlighted.

(Ministry of Finance)