What’s the reason behind the baffling Hungarian workforce decline in Austria?

Photo: Pixabay

For the fourth consecutive month, the count of Hungarians employed in Austria has dropped, prompting speculation on whether this is a seasonal fluctuation or a lasting trend.

Decline in the number of Hungarians in Austria

The number of Hungarians working in Austria continued to fall in November. Although the figures from the Österreichische Sozialversicherung only take into account registered full-time employees, the trend shows that the Hungarian workforce has been dropping for four months now.

Over this four-month period, close to 8000 Hungarian left departed Austria. In August, 126,656 Hungarians were actively employed in the neighbouring country, but this figure has consistently diminished. Though not entirely alarming, there is still an increase compared to the same period last year.

The prevailing assumption attributes the reduction in Hungarian workers in Austria to the cyclical nature of the Austrian labour market, particularly in sectors such as agriculture and tourism. The former experiences reduced activity in winter, while the latter is gradually gearing up with the approaching winter season. The swift decline in the number of Hungarians in Austria may stem from the temporary redundancy of workers dependent on these sectors for their livelihood, as noted by vg.hu.

Periodicity or trend?

It is challenging to assert at this stage whether this is a temporary situation or a lasting trend. December will prove decisive in determining whether the hospitality sector needs additional staff. The previous year witnessed an increase of over a thousand Hungarian workers in Austria.

Despite the decline, the Austrian labour market continues to attract Hungarian workers, who are specifically targeted for numerous positions in the neighbouring country. As a result, there is a huge labour shortage in Hungary, particularly in manual jobs.

The magnitude of Hungarians in the Austrian labour market is evident in the fact that, of the 980 thousand foreigners registered in November, 118 thousand were Hungarian citizens. This figure trails only behind the 124,000 German workers, as reported by economx.hu.