Foreign workers are flooding to Hungary to meet labour shortages

In the last few years, the number of Hungarian workers has drastically decreased, meaning companies have no option but to employ foreign workers, reported 24.hu. Based on figures from Work Force, foreign workers are increasingly the solution to labour shortages.

According to a study conducted by KSH in 2018, labour demand was on the rise last year. In the first quarter of 2018, employers had 79,400 vacancies. This figure rose to 83,600 and 87,700 in the second and third quarters respectively. Most labour shortages were in administrative and service-support opportunities. There were also 22,900 vacancies in the manufacturing industry, while trading and building sectors were also facing shortages.

Why is there a shortage?

Less and less children are in secondary education; there were 14,000 and 86,000 fewer students in high schools and on vocational courses respectively compared to 5 years ago. Even though wages have risen by 70% since 2010, people are orientated towards job opportunities that offer higher wages.  Moreover, the demographics of the country are changing; Hungary has an ageing population and emigration has increased. There is also less flexibility around working hours and contract types compared to opportunities abroad.

Workers from abroad can help alleviate this issue

“Hungarian wages and bonuses need to increase and working conditions need to improve.  Flexible working hours and foreign labour will all help alleviate labour shortage issues” according to Work Force managing director Róbert Csákvári.

Csákvári also recommends mobile accommodation. These are becoming more and more popular in Europe.

Shops, restaurants and health care facilitates are sprung up next factories to meet the needs of workers.

As we wrote, this is will be the case with the guest workers whole will arrive in Tiszaújváros to build a chemical plant.

Due to technological advances, the nature of work has also changed; people are not tied to a particular place and to set time periods. This trend first appeared in skilled positions, but it will soon affect manual and unskilled occupations too. Work places are increasingly unable to meet societal needs. In a world where task- and project-orientated positions are becoming more widespread, studies have shown that it is important to maintain a good relationship between employers and employees, in which mobile accommodations may play a key role.

According to the Immigration and Asylum Office, by the end of the third quarter of 2018 the number of immigrants has risen by 150% compared to the whole of the previous year.

Till October 2018 83,611 requested a work permit, while this figure was merely 61,599 in 2017.

A 2017 survey by the National Employment Service revealed that 790 permits went to people from non-EU neighbour countries. The number of work permits issued to people from non-EU European countries and non-European countries was 2,098 and 7,179 respectively.

Most companies are open to hiring people from countries outside of Hungary as the process is not complicated on their part. The company takes responsibility for nearly everything; from the paperwork to the workers payroll and from providing their accommodation to their travel costs. They also provide on-site interpreters and supervision.

“Out of all the non-EU neighbourhood countries, Ukrainian migrants are particularly appreciated. However, because Western Europe is also struggling with labour shortages, they are a highly sought after labour force” added Csákvári.

People are interested in joining the Hungarian labour market from far afield as Mongolia. People may choose Hungary due to the better wages on offer and the proximity to migrants’ host countries. They are usually motivated, diligent and work-loving people who are interested in long-term work opportunities.

KSH’s research found that in 2018 22,700 Romanian and 10,500 Ukrainian workers came to Hungary. However, it will be increasingly difficult to attract works from these countries; Romanian wages are rapidly increasing and Ukrainians can earn double the amount of Hungarian salaries if they migrate 200km further.

A European issue

Labour shortages were highest in the Czech Republic within the EU, where 5.4% of vacant positions were not filled in 2018. Hungary had the 5^th highest labour shortage after the Czech Republic, Austria, the UK and Sweden with a figure of 2.7%.

Earlier this month we reported that migrants without work permits are coming from Serbia and Ukraine to Hungary.