The Government is taking prompt action to prevent increasingly frequent labour shortages from becoming an obstacle to economic growth, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga told public news agency MTI.

One-fourth of enterprises recently asked in a labour market survey have said they had been confronted with labour shortage when they tried to hire people for certain jobs. The domestic labour market has been increasingly plagued with the lack of skilled labour in certain sectors and divisions, he added.

Speaking of a proposal tabled by the Confederation of Hungarian Employers and Industrialists, the Minister said that the Government has agreed with several points of it, such as the proposal that in case of demand the employment of skilled labour from third countries must be facilitated.

Nobody shall worry about losing a position, as only those jobs are concerned for which there is no domestic labour avaialable in the required quantity and with the sufficient skills, Mihály Varga pointed out. The amendment of related regulation is to be published soon, he added.

The Minister also highlighted the importance of accommodation for incoming workers. Therefore, as of next year, the Government will subsidize some of the housing expenditures of companies through tax incentives.

As of 1 January, for example, employers may deduct double the amount spent on the building and maintenance of workers’ lodgings from the corporate tax base. In addition, the so-called tax break for worker mobility will also be introduced, he said.

We are also weighing options for directly assisting the building of lodgings, the Minister said. The Government is also open to proposals by employers and it will take more steps if the labour market situation necessitates them.

The proposal of the Confederation of Hungarian Employers and Industrialists identifies the need of involving culturally adaptable, skilled labour as a short-term objective, and it recommends that differentiated wage hikes be implemented in line with the profitability growth of companies, based on consensus and manouvering room for employers, instead of interference through new regulations. The Confederation also advocates the more frequent use, among active labour market measures, of incentives for training and corporate projects aimed at better productivity through involving EU funds, tax breaks and targeted state-initiated development programmes.

(Ministry for National Economy)