Coronavirus crisis raises rolling average jobless rate to 4.1 pc

Hungary’s three-month rolling average jobless rate reached 4.1 percent in May, up 0.3 percentage point from the previous month and 0.7 percentage point from twelve months earlier, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Monday.

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

In absolute terms, there were 190,200 unemployed, 16,100 more than in the previous month and up 29,800 from a year earlier.

In a departure from its usual practice, KSH released data for the month of May alone showing the average number of jobless stood at 215,000, lifting the unemployment rate to 4.7 percent.

In absolute terms, the number of jobless rose 28,000 from April and was up 55,000 from the same month a year earlier.

KSH said it published the May data to better show the impact of the pandemic on the labour market, although it acknowledged that the numbers do not share the same degree of accuracy as the three-month rolling average figures.

KSH noted that data from the National Employment Service (NFSZ) show there were 363,000 registered jobseekers at the end of May, up more than 43 percent from twelve months earlier.

• Coronavirus – Four die, three new infections in Hungary
• PM’s Office: No decision on Hungary joining the euro zone yet

Source: MTI