In Q4 2016, the number of people in employment rose by 152 thousand year-on-year, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at a press conference. The Minister noted that a breakthrough has been achieved as parallel to job growth the number of people working abroad or as a public work employee has been declining. Since the regime change in 2010, the number of people in employment has increased by more than 700 thousand, with the bulk of job growth, 486 thousand, recorded within the private sector, he noted.
In the last quarter of 2016, the number of jobless people fell to 205 thousand, and thus the unemployment rate has hit 4.4 percent, a new low point of a 54-month downward trend. This figure places Hungary as third on the EU ranking of countries with the lowest unemployment rates, behind only the Czech Republic and Germany. Concurrently, the economic activity rate of those aged 15-64 years rose by 1.6 percentage points, to 70.7 percent, compared to the same period of the previous year. The Government-initiated six-year wage deal, which stipulates higher minimum wages and guaranteed minimum wages and lowers payroll taxes, stimulates work productivity at enterprises and boosts the number of jobs producing higher value added, Mihály Varga stressed.
Accordingly, the agreement is expected to underpin existing favourable labour market trends and lift GDP growth. Rising household consumption, the recently announced expansion of capacities at businesses, the residential property market upturn driven by government measures and the acceleration of the disbursement of EU funding are factors that are all pointing to a further increase in the number of jobs.
(Ministry for National Economy)
