The number of employees in Hungary’s business sector, which includes private as well as state-owned companies employing at least five people, fell 1.9% in the twelve months to September, dropping for the 10th month in a row, data published by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Thursday show.

The twelve-month drop slowed from 2.4% in August although part of the slowdown could reflect base effects.

The number of business sector employees fell by 36,300 from a year earlier to 1,829,100 in September, and was up a slight 1,100 from August.

Business sector employment started to decline yr/yr in December 2011 after a steady year-on-year increase between May 2010 and November 2011.

January-September employment in the sector was down also by 1.9% from a year earlier. Business sector employment rose 1.3% last year and rose 0.3% in 2010, after falling 6.7% on the economic crisis in 2009.