Hungary jobless rate falls to 3.8 pc

Hungary’s rolling average three-month jobless rate dropped to 3.8 percent in September-November, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Thursday.

The rate fell from 4.0 percent a month earlier and from 4.5 percent a year ago.

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

In absolute terms, the number of unemployed averaged 177,500 in September-November, down 6,000 from August-October and 30,000 fewer than in the same period a year earlier.

The average time spent looking for work was 16.3 months during the period. About 42.5 percent of the unemployed had been seeking a job for one year or more.

The number of employed Hungarians stood at 4,450,200 during the period, 5,100 more than in the previous month and up 35,800 from a year earlier.

KSH defines “employed” in line with International Labour Organisation 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.

Commenting on the data, Economy Minister Mihály Varga told public television that 3.8 percent was the lowest rate of unemployment ever measured in Hungary and one of the lowest in the EU. Full employment is within reach, he said.

The number of fostered workers has declined over the past few months and is expected to fall further, Varga said, adding that many fostered workers have found their way back to the primary labour market.

There are about 60,000 registered vacancies, to be filled with Hungarian workforce rather than immigrants, the minister said.

ING Bank chief analyst Péter Virovácz said the jobless rate may have fallen to 3.7 percent in December and put the year-end rate for 2018 at 3.5 percent.

Erste Bank’s senior analyst Orsolya Nyeste noted the impact of the tight labour market on the improved jobless data. Erste puts the average annual employment rate at 4.2 percent for last year and 4.0 percent for this year, she said.

Source: MTI