Thanks to favourable economic trends and supportive Government measures, the number of people in employment has hit a new record high of 4 million 451 thousand, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said, commenting on data released by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH).

Since the Government came to office in 2010, 741 thousand more people have landed a job, of which 560 thousand are in the private sector, he added. This shows that the Hungarian economy has been expanding steadily, and this – along with the Government-initiated six-year wage agreement and tax cuts -- may give additional impetus to the labour market and boost hiring, he noted.

As a result of the six-year wage deal brokered last November, wages in real terms have increased by more than 10 percent this year, and -- parallel to that – the number of people in employment has been rising robustly, at a pace unseen since the regime change of 1989. This clearly proves that the wage deal has been successful; it has had a positive effect on the labour market due to the fact that first, it has substantially raised smaller wages and second, it has reduced taxes payable by employers. The unemployment rate has fallen to a level unseen in the past 25 years, and this has also been the result of measures such as the Job Protection Action, the Youth Guarantee Programme and other Government-initiated employment and economic activity incentives.

The number of jobless people declined by 38 thousand over the course of one year, to 189 thousand, bringing the unemployment rate down to 4.1 percent – the low point of a 63-month downward trend. If one compares EU data it shows that Hungary’s unemployment rate is the fourth best figure, right ahead of that of the Czech Republic, he pointed out. Further job growth are expected to be underpinned by rising household consumption, upcoming corporate development projects, the rising number of home building projects and the acceleration of EU fund disbursements.

(Ministry for National Economy)