The survey, which covered the remuneration packages of 7,000 executives, shows executive salaries in Hungary vary between HUF 1.5 million and HUF 3 mln , but regional managers may earn up to HUF 3.4 mln.

Recently, managers have increasingly been asking for their salaries in euros, while it is also more difficult to provide them with a company car, Wyser said. 

Companies are expected to be more careful with layoffs, the authors of the analysis said, because during the pandemic it became clear that, despite the difficulties, it is more worthwhile to keep employees than to reduce headcount and then hire new workers later.

Recent experience shows that the companies that responded to the challenges by laying off staff quickly took longer to recover, they added.