National economy minister: Hungarian government targets rapid wage convergence

The government targets a rapid wage convergence, paired with GDP growth of 3-6pc, from next year, National Economy Minister Márton Nagy said at an awards presentation on Friday.

Nagy said this year’s GDP growth had failed to meet expectations mainly because of the downturn of the German economy — which hit the automotive industry hard — and domestic consumption developments. He said that third-quarter GDP growth was “minimal” and put fourth-quarter growth at 1-2pc. He augured a sharp rise in GDP growth from the first quarter of 2025, putting Hungary in the “3-6pc category”.

The government targets a minimum wage of EUR 1,000/month and an average gross wage of HUF 1m/month by 2028, he said.

He said the government supported an agreement between employers and unions that would raise the minimum wage to 50pc of the average wage by 2027. That would require the minimum wage to rise from HUF 266,800/month at present to HUF 374,800 by January 1, 2027, and to HUF 419,815 a year later, he added.

At the same time, the average wage could rise from HUF 651,147/month at present to HUF 878,549 by 2027 and to over HUF 970,000 by 2028, he said.

Nagy said wage convergence could be supported by the launch of a credit scheme for young blue-collar workers, doubled family tax preferences and low inflation. He added that the government aimed to boost employment by tapping labour market reserves, raising the employment rate among 20- to 64-year-olds from 81.4pc to 85pc by 2030.

EUR/HUF exchange rate at the time of editing of the article: 400.84

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