Hungaryʼs unemployment rate falls to 3.8%

In the period September–November 2017, the average number of jobless people was 178,000, some 30,000 fewer than a year earlier. The unemployment rate was lower for men than for women and the rate of improvement was also higher among men.

Among 15–74 year-old men in September–November 2017, compared to a year before, the number of jobless decreased by 23,000 to 87,000, and their unemployment rate by 1.0 percentage point to 3.4%. Regarding women, the number of jobless declined by 7,000 to 91,000, and their unemployment rate by 0.3 of a percentage point to 4.3%.

The unemployment rate in the 15–24 age group decreased by 1.3 percentage points to 10.4%, with one-fifth of the jobless total belonging to this age group in the period concerned. The unemployment rate of those aged 25–54 - persons belonging to the ‘best working age’ - decreased by 0.5 of a percentage point to 3.4%, while the rate among those aged 55–64 fell by 0.8 of a percentage point to 2.9%.

The average duration of unemployment was 16.3 months; 42.5% of unemployed people had been searching for a job for one year or more, i.e. were long-term unemployed.

Administrative data of the National Employment Service show that at the end of November 2017, compared to a year earlier, the total number of registered job seekers had decreased by 5.7% to 258,000.

Employment rate up to 68.8%

In the period September–November 2017, the average number of employed people was 4,450,000, some 36,000 more than a year earlier. The employment rate among people aged 15–64 increased by 1.3 percentage points to 68.8%, with the employment indicator of men improving to a greater extent than that of women.

In September–November 2017, compared to a year before, the number of employed people increased by 0.8%. The increment in the domestic primary labor market was 85,000, while the number of people working in public fostered work schemes decreased by 37,000 and the number working abroad by 11,000.

The vast majority of employed people fell within the 15–64 age group. The number of employed men increased by 1.9%, while their employment rate rose by 2.2 percentage points to 76.1%. Regarding women aged 15–64, the number of employed essentially remained the same, while the employment rate – due to demographic changes – grew by 0.5 of a percentage point to 61.7%.

Among young people aged 15–24 years, the employment rate was 29.6%. The number of employed people increased in the ‘best working age’, i.e. the 25–54 age group, with their employment rate rising by 1.2 percentage points to 84.2%. In the older, 55–64 age group, the employment rate grew by 1.5 percentage points to 52.5%.

The employment rate among people aged 20–64 – the coverage regarding the development of employment objectives defined in the Europe 2020 Strategy – grew by 1.4 percentage points to 74.0%. The European Union has targeted raising the average employment rate to 75% by 2020; in Hungary, the employment rate in this age group is currently 82.0% for men and 66.1% for women.

Both unemployment and employment figures for the next three-month period of October–December 2017 will be published by the KSH on January 30, 2018.