Hungarian labour market in extreme lack of workforce

By now every sector is affected by the shortage of workforce in the Hungarian labour market. Although KSH (Central Statistical Office) measured the gap to be 80,000 people, in reality, the number of unfilled jobs can be much more depending on the sector according to Portfolio.hu’s analysis.

What is the problem?

„The absence of skilled workforce represents an increasing problem in every sector of the Hungarian economy. Sectors such as the construction industry, catering industry and tourism are in the worst situation where finding and retaining skilled employees means a daily problem” – says Rolek Ferenc, deputy of national business association MGYOSZ, on the one hand.

On the other hand, the leader of a recruitment process outsourcing company Randstad claims to have less skilled workers than necessary in the labour market currently.

He stresses the importance of skills and training, as there are many workers in unsuitable companies without the necessary competences.

Which sectors are most affected?

Robotisation might be an answer to the increasing problem of labour force shortage in the processing industry – there are around 100-200,000 jobs to be filled by the missing skilled workers. The lack of workforce is not only a problem of GDP but also detains companies from more production.

Another highly affected sector is the construction industry, where 30-40,000 workers would be needed. Following the economic crisis, skilled workers that spoke several languages left the country to work abroad.

For this reason, there are several construction projects that will be delayed due to the lack in labor force.