Every third Hungarian’s money is worth less now than a year ago
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The Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) recently released an experimental dataset providing a detailed picture of how earnings have changed in the first half of 2025.
Growth has slowed down
Although the figures initially seem positive, a closer look reveals that wage growth has not benefited every Hungarian equally — and many workers are still worse off in real terms than they were a year ago, according to 444.
According to the data, by the end of June the gross average salary was 9.7 per cent higher than a year earlier. Given that inflation stood at 4.6 per cent in June, this translates into a 4.8 per cent increase in real earnings.
At first glance, this appears to be encouraging; however, the pace of growth has already slowed compared with 2024, and many households are still recovering from the loss in purchasing power experienced in previous years.
The detailed breakdown shows striking disparities behind the seemingly positive averages. In the first half of the year, nearly one-third of employees saw their real earnings decrease — meaning that their pay rises failed to keep pace with inflation.
Some did benefit, some did not
Although this marks a slight improvement compared with the first quarter, it still means that roughly one in three workers has lost purchasing power.
Historical KSH data suggests this is far from a new phenomenon. Even in 2024 — a year of strong overall real wage growth — around one in five employees earned less in real terms than the previous year. In 2025, that proportion has risen by about half again, to more than 30 per cent.