Fewer people are working in Hungary now than at any time in the past two years

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Illustration. Photo: depositphotos.com

The jobless rate in Hungary for people between the ages of 15 and 74 stood at 4.3% in May, data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday show.

In absolute terms, there were 210,000 unemployed. The number of employed reached 4,669,000. For the period March-May, the average number of employed reached 4,673,000, 38,000 fewer than in the same period a year earlier.

The number of people employed on the primary market stood at 4,501,000, down 44,000 from a year earlier. The number of Hungarians working abroad reached 106,000, and the number of people in fostered work programmes was 66,000. The employment rate for the 15-64 age group stood at 75.1%.

Gender gap in unemployment

The latest KSH data also shows that gender gaps in unemployment have started to widen again in recent months: while in the second half of last year, the figures for men and women were roughly similar, the gap has widened in recent months, with the latest figures showing unemployment at 4.5 percent among men and 4.1 percent among women.

The average duration of job search is more than one year (12.8 months), while 42.1% of unemployed people have been looking for a job for less than three months. The percentage of jobless who had been looking for work for at least one year reached 33%.

Registered job seekers

Data from the National Employment Service (NFSZ) show there were 223,000 registered job seekers at the end of May, down 1.4% from twelve months earlier. Commenting on the fresh data, Sándor Czomba, the state secretary for employment policy, said Hungary’s employment data remained “at the forefront” in Europe. He added that programmes to boost employment had placed over 42,000 job seekers in positions.

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