Jobless rate in Hungary higher than in January 2023

Hungary’s jobless rate was 4.2 percent in December, level with November, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Friday.

The December rate for 15-74-year-olds was higher than 3.8 percent twelve months earlier. Fully 207,300 people were unemployed, 23,800 more than in the same month the previous year.

The rolling three-month average jobless rate stood at 4.4 percent in December, up from 3.9 percent twelve months earlier.

The monthly jobless rate for 15-64-year-olds was 4.2 percent in December, unchanged from November and up from 3.8 percent a year earlier.

In December, the average number of employed aged between 15 and 74 increased by 21,000 to 4,723,000 compared with twelve months earlier. In the full year, the number of employed increased by 29,000 to 4,724,000, while the employment rate of 15-64 year olds was 74.8 percent, 0.4 percentage points higher than the previous year.

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Commenting on the data, Sándor Czomba, the state secretary for employment policy, noted the record high employment rate in the last quarter of 2023, with the activity rate of the 15-64 age group at a record high of 78.5 percent.

The number of jobholders has grown by 1 million people “since the Gyurcsány era”, he said. Thanks to government measures to protect families and jobs through boosting employment rates, the number of jobseekers has fallen to a record low, he said.

The record activity rate is another step towards the targeted 85 percent, Czomba said. The government is working to achieve a 4 percent GDP, increase consumption and to keep investments above 25 percent, he added.