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Under the agreement, the monthly minimum wage will rise by 11% to HUF 322,800 for unskilled labourers and by 7% to HUF 373,200 for skilled workers.
Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated the sides on the agreement and thanked them for partnering with the government. He noted that an earlier, three-year agreement on minimum wage increases had needed adjustments in the context of the economic slowdown due to the war in Ukraine.
He said the minimum wage agreement would directly affect some 700,000 Hungarians. He added that the minimum wage increase in Hungary over the past 15 years had been triple the European Union average.
He said that 1 million more Hungarians were working than in 2010 thanks to government measures supporting a work-based society, and a shortage of labor was more evident than joblessness.
He added that there were around 65,000 unfilled positions at present and that the economy minister had mandated the issue of up to 35,000 work permits for guest workers from countries outside of the EU.
Orbán said the minimum wage increase would not be paired with a reduction in the payroll tax because of an earlier agreement on tax cuts that would save SMEs HUF 90 bln.
He added that the government was also providing support in the form of the Home Start subsidized credit scheme for first-time home buyers.
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