According to the latest report of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), the number of people in employment has been above 4 million for the 22nd consecutive month in Hungary. In the period November 2015-January 2016, the number of people aged 15-74 years in employment grew by 113 thousand, to 4 million 240 thousand.

Thanks to Hungarian reforms, the number of people with a job has reached a record high since the regime change. The unemployment rate is 6.2 percent, which means that the number of jobless people has been below the threshold of 300 thousand for half-a-year.

The employment rate of those aged 15-64 years improved by 2 percentage points year-on-year, to 64.5 percent. As far as the gender aspect of employment is concerned, indicators improved for both men and women. The employment rate of men aged 15-64 years was up by 2.9 percentage points year-on-year, to 71.2 percent. The indicator for women was also better: it gained 1.3 percentage points and reached 58.1 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

In November 2015-January 2016, the number of unemployed people fell by 51 thousand, to 279 thousand, while the unemployment rate eased by 1.2 percentage points, to 6.2 percent.

The number of people with a job aged 15-24 years edged up to 288 thousand, or 26.5 percent. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed youth fell by 16 thousand, 47 thousand. Accordingly, youth unemployment fell by 16 thousand, to 47 thousand, compared to the same period of the previous year, which corresponds to a drop of 4.7 percentage points in the unemployment rate of young people (to 14.2 percent).

Incoming data show that employment has been on the rise in Hungary, which has a positive impact on fiscal revenues and household consumption. The significant rise in the number of people in employment has been a result, among others, of lower taxes on labour, the Job Protection Action Plan and the positive economic U-turn of 2013.

For detailed data please visit www.ksh.hu.

(Ministry for National Economy)