Reversed trend? People from Slovakia come to work in Hungary

Wages of the main contenders in the Hungarian industry have increased over the last few years and now have reached a level even higher than that of Slovakia. This wage advantage of the area near the border could increase further next year, but only if the forint does not weaken any more compared to the euro.

In the past two years, many workplaces have closed either temporarily or permanently all over the world. According to Világgazdaság, many factories of the automotive industry had to suspend their production or shut down entirely in Slovakia. Csongor Juhász, the executive manager of the Prohuman temporary employment agency said that therefore, many people have lost certainty of earning wages and have opted for commuting and working in Hungary.

The executive manager added that there are several prospering companies near the borders with a long history of operations that provide competitive wages compared to Slovakia.

In some cases, these workplaces require less travel for workers than commuting in Slovakia and they provide fair work environments and have established really good bonus schemes for their workers.

Világgazdaság says that the wage level of Central and Western Transdanubia have already surpassed that of the Pozsony and Western Slovakia regions in 2018.

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Zoltán Matheika, leading researcher of Kopint-Tárki highlighted that it is especially true if the lower rate of personal income tax is also considered.

According to Telex, the most recent data of both the Hungarian and Slovakian statistical offices show that in these areas, the Hungarian average salary have reached and sometimes even surpassed Slovakian wages.

While in Nyitra (Nitra) region, the average salary was about net 262,000 forints (€ 750), the average salary of the neighbouring Hungarian Komárom-Esztergom country was 270,000 forints (€ 770). The net average salary in Nagyszombat (Trnava) with 296,000 forints (€846) is comparable to the 303,000-forint (€ 867) net average salary of the Hungarian Győr-Moson-Sopron county.

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Tamás Seres, leader of the Hays Hungary Engineering & Manufacturing team told Világgazdaság, that he thinks it is possible that specialists from neighbouring regions would come to work in Hungary due to the increase of wages and the labour mobility the EU provides.

This is especially true in Slovakian regions densely populated by Hungarians, where wages are generally lower. For this reason, many people come to earn their living in Hungary. Csongor Juhász said that this phenomenon is not only happening in Western, but also in Eastern Hungary, where people from Slovakia often go to work in the Miskolc region in Hungary.

Zoltán Matheika said that it is not a mass labour migration, but thanks to the possibly Hungarian wage increases next year, the phenomenon of people commuting to work in Hungary from Slovakia might become more and more prevalent in the future.

Featured image: illustration

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Source: Telex.hu, vg.hu