Official: Hungary’s pandemic response successful in protecting wages
The Hungarian government’s pandemic response measures have been successful in protecting wages, rebooting the economy and putting the country on a growth path, state secretary for employment policy Sándor Bodó said on Thursday.
The minimum wage has more than doubled since 2010, pushing other wages up as well, Bodó said.
In January-May, gross wages rose by 109 percent compared with 2010, while net earnings were up 112.5 percent, Bodó said. Including family tax cuts, wage growth was 119 percent between 2010 and 2021, he added.
Real wages have now been rising for nine consecutive years, the state secretary said, adding that their purchasing power was over 60 percent higher than 10 years ago.
Bodó said the government had also been successful in saving jobs and creating new ones after the labour market took a significant hit from the pandemic. Some 4.7 million people are currently employed in Hungary, more than at any other time since the change of regime in 1989-90, and the number of registered jobseekers has fallen below 260,000, he said.
The government will continue its policy of tax cuts, allowing employers to raise wages and giving them more room for manoeuvre, he said.
Bodó also said Hungary’s 9 percent corporate tax rate was the lowest in Europe, with the 15 percent personal income tax rate was also among the lowest on the continent.
He noted that consultations on raising the monthly minimum wage to 200,000 forints (EUR 565) are taking place with the Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Read alsoAudit Office head suggests scrapping personal income tax in Hungary
Source: MTI
In all countries in Europe the wages have gone up compared to pre-pandemic in many sectors. many people who have had Covid are still suffering from ‘Long Covid’ and unable to return to work and in sectors such as hospitality, many people have left and now want or have obtained more secure work (less vulnerable if there are future waves). This not a Hungarian ‘achievement’ it is the same story in the US, the UK, Germany etc etc.
But the minimum wage is still way below what it should be. If they’re boasting it’s doubled since 2010, what on earth was it before. The consultation to raise the minimum wage is still ongoing, but the government has implied previously that it’s imminent. Why are the public being asked on the questionnaire whether it should be raised. It’s not for us to decide, nothing more than a carrot for a vote.