Hungary jobless rate falls to 6.9 pc in April-June

Budapest, July 29 (MTI) – The three-month rolling jobless rate was 6.9 percent in April-June, down from down from 7.1 percent in March-May, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) said on Wednesday.

The April-June jobless rate was down from 8.1 percent in the same period a year earlier.

The number of unemployed averaged 310,400 in April-June. The number of employed averaged 4,200,700.

Average employment in April-June was 125,500 higher than in the same period a year earlier.

A total of 48.5 percent of the unemployed had been seeking work for one year or more. The average time spent looking for work was 19 months.

More than 4.2 million people are now employed in Hungary, the highest number since 1992, and jobless rate is at a ten-year low, Sandor Czomba, state secretary for labour and further education, said.

Fostered jobs added around 45,000 to the employment figure in April-June while seasonal jobs added a further 13,000. Stripping out seasonal and fostered jobs, there was a rise of about 70,000 in the private sector, “an important result”, Czomba said.

Analysts told MTI that the unemployment rate is expected to remain below 7 percent for the rest of the year.

Seasonal employment was a factor in the rise as the rate normally rises during the summer, K and H analyst David Nemeth said, adding that the jobless rate would stay steady, averaging around 7 percent in 2015.

Takarekbank Andras Oszlay said the jobless rate would stabilise at below 7 percent. In the third quarter this year it could drop to as low as 6.2 percent, he said, adding that a 6.8 percent yearly average was likely following 7.7 percent in 2014.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters