The fiscal costs of family support measures unveiled by the government in February are expected to reach the equivalent of 0.3% of GDP this year, and 1.1% of GDP next year, but will not impact the general government deficit target in either year, a senior official of the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

The tender to upgrade the Hungarian section of the rail line between Budapest and Belgrade has been won by a Chinese-Hungarian consortium, state news portal kormany.hu reported.

A little more than 737,000 jobs were added to the Hungarian economy between 2010 and 2018, according to a summary of data published by the Central Statistical Office (KSH), cited by Hungarian news agency MTI.

With another 20 organizations signing the memorandum of understanding of the Circular Economy Platform, founded last November by the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH), the Netherlands Embassy, and the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, the member count now stands at 68.

The EU statistics office Eurostat confirmed Hungaryʼs 2018 general government deficit and debt Tuesday as the figures sent to Brussels by Hungary. However, it expressed reservations on the classification of certain institutions, particularly the foundations of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB).

In the first quarter of 2019, demand for jobs in the IT, administrative, and hospitality sectors, as well as skilled labor positions, grew significantly compared to the same period a year ago, with the total number of job applicants up 17%, according to online job search specialist Profession.hu.

Economic research institute GKIʼs Economic Sentiment Index, its combined gauge of consumer and business confidence, fell 3.3 points to 2.9 in April, falling for the fourth month in a row, according to state news wire MTI.

The “vast majority” of German-owned companies in Hungary gave a positive evaluation of their own business, as well as of the state of the local economy, in an annual survey conducted by the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DUIHK). Firms were less sanguine about the future outlook, however.   

The volume of construction output, based on raw data, was 48% higher in February 2019 than a year earlier, show the latest monthly data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH). Output increased in both main groups of construction: in the construction of buildings by 39.4%, and in civil engineering works by 65.4%.

The state-owned Hungarian Fashion and Design Agency has completed the working draft of a strategy to boost the local creative industry, national news wire MTI reported Monday. The agency said it is working to condense the strategy to present to the government.

Hourly labor costs in Hungary in 2018 were the fourth lowest among EU member states after Bulgaria, Romania and Lithuania, according to a fresh study published by Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union. 

Vehicle manufacturing output in Hungary rose 10% year-on-year in February, beating the overall increase in industrial output, state news wire MTI reports, citing a detailed release of data by the Central Statistical Office (KSH).

In 2016, foreign-controlled companies accounted for 51.4% of value added in the non-financial business economy in Hungary, the highest value in the entire European Union, according to Eurostat, the EUʼs official statistical office.

In February 2019, the number of nights spent in Hungary by international tourists grew by 3.3% to 803,000, while nights spent by domestic tourists rose 0.6% to 789,000 compared to the same month of the previous year, according to the latest figures released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH). 

The Monetary Council of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) agreed at its monthly policy meeting in March that uncertainty created by strong upside and downside risks to the inflation outlook prevent "clear forward guidance" and require monetary policy shaped by "a series of individual decisions."

Hungaryʼs Eximbank has opened a USD 620 million credit line to help the activities of Hungarian businesses in Mexico, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday, speaking by phone from Mexico with Hungarian news agency MTI.

The net assets of an average Hungarian household stood at HUF 27 million at the end of 2017, up 48% from 2014, current affairs portal hvg.hu reported based on figures compiled by the National Bank of Hungary (MNB).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its projection for Hungaryʼs GDP growth this year to 3.6% in its fresh World Economic Outlook published on Tuesday, local media sources reported.

Consumer prices were 3.7% higher on average in March 2019 than a year earlier, show the latest monthly data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH). Significant price rises were measured over the past year for alcoholic beverages and tobacco, as well as food items.

Hungaryʼs general government, excluding local councils, ran a HUF 141.9 billion deficit at the end of March, the Ministry of Finance said in a preliminary reading of data on Monday. The deficit thus reached 14.2% of the HUF 998.4 bln target for the full year.