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The rate covers unemployment among those between the ages of 15 and 74.

In absolute terms, there were 157,900 unemployed, 2,400 more than in the previous period and down 8,300 from a year earlier.

The unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group stood at 11.1%, up 1.0 percentage points compared to the base period. The unemployed in this age group account for almost one-quarter of all jobless, KSH noted.

The unemployment rate in the 25-54 age group was down at 2.9%, and the rate in the 55-74 age group was at 2.6%.

Out-of-work Hungarians spent about 14.0 months on average looking for employment during the period, and 37.4% of the unemployed had been seeking work for one year or longer.

The number of employed stood at 4,517,900 among 15- to 74-year-olds, 34,300 or 0.8% more than in the same period a year earlier. The employment rate was 60.9%, up 0.6 percentage point.

The number of employed included 109,700 Hungarians in fostered work programmes and 117,800 working abroad. The number of those employed on the domestic primary labour market rose 1.7% from a year earlier to 4,290,400, while the number of fostered workers dropped 31.0%. The number of those working abroad was up 9.7%.

KSH defines “employed” in line with International Labour Organization standards as anybody who worked one or more hour a week or was temporarily absent from their job during the survey week. The data also include those employed in public work schemes and those working abroad for less than one year.