PM Orbán: Hungary bringing jobs back faster than euro-zone countries

Hungary is bringing back jobs lost during the pandemic faster than the euro-zone countries, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told a press briefing on Thursday.

Whereas unemployment in the euro zone is at 8 percent, in Hungary it is 4.3 percent, Orbán said. More than 4.5 million have a job in Hungary today, he noted, only 50,000 fewer than in the same period of 2019.

Hungary’s government has vowed to create as many jobs as have been destroyed by the virus, Orbán noted, adding however that there would be an opportunity to create double that many before the end of the year.

• Crazy price increase in the Hungarian & global food market!

Contributors to response efforts to get ten-day leave

Those who contributed to Hungary’s Covid-19 response efforts will get a paid leave of ten days

“This is the least they deserve,” Orbán told a press briefing.

The decree specifying the scope of recipients will be published later today, he said.

Gergely Gulyás, head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said workers would not have the option of accepting overtime pay instead of taking the time off, as the purpose of the measure was to give them a chance to rest.

Government to launch National Consultation survey on reopening economy

The government is launching a National Consultation public survey on reopening and strengthening the economy.

The aim of the survey is to find common ground on the most important matters concerning the creation of a stable economy, Orbán told a press briefing.

The public will be asked, for example, on whether they think the increase of the minimum wage to 200,000 forints (EUR 575) alongside considerable tax cuts for SMEs should happen in more phases or one go, he said.

The government is also looking for backing from the public on issues such as a personal income tax rebate for low-earning parents, the moratorium on loan payments, migration and a climate tax, he added.

Read alsoHungary job growth largest in Europe?

Source: MTI