The number of people in employment has increased by more than 660,000 in the past six years, and unemployment has fallen to 5 per cent. But there are further reserves: some 250,000 people are looking for jobs, Péter Cseresnyés, State Secretary for labour market and training said on the public television channel M1 in response to the latest statistical data.

He added: there are unfilled work force needs in the catering sector, in agriculture, in the information technology segment and in the processing industry. These needs must be addressed with adequate training and job orientation.

We may have recently observed that there is keen competition on the market for qualified work force, and this is also testified to by the fact that real wages have increased significantly in the last three years, he added.

He stressed that it is in everyone’s best interest, employees, employers and the Government included, that the number of people in employment should continue to increase considerably. Further employees can be directed to the labour market with the aid of training and employment policy tools.

The commentary issued by the Ministry for National Economy in the wake of the release of the above statistical data highlighted that the number of people in employment has reached a new peak, and the 5 per cent unemployment rate is at a record low. No unemployment rate this low has been recorded in the country ever since the change of regime.

Thanks to the ongoing expansion of the private sector, the reduction of the taxes on employment, and the job protection action plan, employment is steadily rising in Hungary which also has a positive impact on the development of fiscal revenues and the consumption of households, the Ministry stressed.

(Ministry for National Economy)