BUDAPEST: The unemployment rate in Hungary saw a 1.2% year-on-year decrease to 6.9% in the period of April-June, with the number of unemployed people dropping by 49,000 to 310,000, Hungary’s Central Statistical Office (KSH) reported today.
Data from KSH suggest that the number of 15–74 year-old unemployed men decreased by 28,000 to 164,000, and their unemployment rate by 1.3 percentage points to 6.7%. The number of unemployed women declined by 21,000 to 147,000, and their unemployment rate by 1.1 percentage points to 7.1%, KSH added. The unemployment rate of the 15–24 age group decreased by 2.9 percentage points to 17.8%, but nearly one fifth of unemployed people still belong to this age group, KSH noted.
The data also include those employed in public work schemes and those working abroad for less than one year. Fostered workers are employed by the government and paid less than minimum wage to work at jobs such as street sweepers or metro ticket takers. Under the budget plan for 2016, the allocation for fostered work programs will rise by HUF 70 bln to HUF 340 bln, ensuring the participation of 240,000 Hungarians. The bill will allocate HUF 138 bln in support for companies that hire disadvantaged workers.
The employment rate in Hungary saw a year-on-year 3.1% rise, by 126,000, in April-June reaching 4.2 million, while the employment rate of people aged 15–64 reached 63.8%, KSH said. Some 4.167 million of employed people were aged 15–64, with the group’s employment rate growing by 2.5% points to 63.8%, KSH said. The number of 15–64 year-old employed men increased by 3.3% to 2.261 million and their employment rate increased by 2.8 percentage points to 70.1%, while the number of 15-64 year-old employed women increased by 2.7% to 1.906 million, and their employment rate grew by 2.1 percentage points to 57.6%, KSH data suggest.
The level of employment of the population aged 15–64 increased in all of the seven regions. The growth was most significant (4.6 percentage points) in northern Hungary, KSH said, adding that the employment rate was the highest in central Hungary and in western and central Transdanubia, with values exceeding 67% for all of the three regions, while the lowest rate (58.6%) was measured in Northern Great Plain.
