Unforeseen: Hungarian guest workers are leaving Austria – here is why

Austria has always been one of the most beloved destinations of Hungarian workers, but in the last month, there has been a significant change. Statistics show that many of them left Austria in March, which raises important questions about the potential return of work labour to Hungary.

Hungarian guest workers leave Austria

According to Világgazdaság, more than 2000 Hungarian guest workers left Austria in March. The numbers of the Österreichische Sozialverschierung show that in February, more than 126 thousand Hungarians were working in the country, but by the end of March, their number decreased by more than 2000. However, this change is not shocking considering that last year, approximately 8000 Hungarians left Austria between August and November.

Austria has two main sources of labour: Germany and Hungary. Approximately, they both provide the same number of workers, even though Germany has a population of 83 million, as opposed to the 10 million people of Hungary. In March, there were 127 thousand German guest workers in Austria, surpassing the Hungarians by only 3000.

Their number also fluctuates from year to year: in 2023, there were 122 thousand Germans, and a year later, this number increased to 127 thousand. In March, there were approximately 997 thousand guest workers altogether in Austria, 3000 more than in February. This means that in Austria with a population of 9,1 million, every 9th person is not an Austrian citizen.

Are they going back to Hungary from Austria?

These statistics raise several questions. First of all, are these people going back to Hungary? The answer is not as simple as we may think. Most of the work in Austria is seasonal, meaning that guest workers go back and forth between the two countries regularly.

Many of them live and work close to the border, but Vienna is not the number one destination, as the southern region is also popular, as well as Burgenland. The demand for Hungarian workers in Austria is quite high, as there are employers who launch courses in Hungarian to attract workers.

This is a serious problem as Hungary has been suffering from a labour shortage, even though the number of foreign workers in the country is quite high. Gazsi Attila, the vice president of VOSZ, told portfolio.hu that encouraging Hungarian guest workers to come home is a key element in expanding the job market, as their new skills, and industrial and advanced method practices could increase the productivity of the domestic workforce.

Encouraging them to come home is key

Meaning, it is important that the decision-makers support the development of programs that facilitate the return and integration of those affected. He also stated that for now, economic growth is unimaginable without the involvement of foreign workers, due to the increasing number of unfulfilled jobs. This means that Hungarians do not lose their jobs because of them, they help maintain the development of domestic businesses and support establishing new ones.

Although the numbers may seem specific, for now, we can’t really tell the foreseeable consequences, as it is plausible that in the coming months, the number of Hungarian guest workers will continue to decrease, just to start increasing in the summer again, as it usually does due to the seasonal quality of the Austrian labour market.

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• Highly-skilled Hungarian workers fleeing the country – read here
• Guest workers paid millions in Hungary?