May 2020: 134,000 Fewer People in Employment

In May 2020, the average monthly number of employed people was 4 million 399 thousand, which is 134 thousand less than a year earlier.

The economic consequences of the coronavirus epidemic are reflected in the employment data reported by the Central Statistical Office.
Over the period of March–May 2020, the average number of employed people in Hungary was 4,403,000; the employment rate of people aged 15–64 was 68.6%. Both sexes saw a decrease, however, employment rate for men was higher than for women.

In March–May 2020, compared to a year before:

– The number of members of Hungarian households working abroad decreased by 23 thousand due to the loss of their work abroad, i.e. they did not lose their jobs due to domestic economic processes.

– Of those aged 15-64, 4 million 316 thousand were classified as employed, with an overall employment rate of 68.6%. The number of the employed among men aged 15–64 declined by 48 thousand to 2,384 thousand, and their employment rate by 1.2 percentage points to 76.0%. Regarding 15–64 year-old women, the number of the employed decreased by 62 thousand to 1,933 thousand, and their employment rate by 1.3 percentage points to 61.3%.

– The employment rate of people aged 20–64 – the coverage regarding the development of employment objectives defined in the Europe 2020 Strategy – decreased by 1.1 percentage points to 73.9%. The European Union has set a target value of 75% for 2020, currently the employment rate for this age group in Hungary is 81.9% for men and 66.0% for women.