Hungarian Workforce Volume Continues to Shrink

For the period October-December, the average number of employed reached 4,624,000, 46,000 fewer than in the same period a year earlier. The number of people employed on the primary market stood at 4,457,000, down 58,000 from a year earlier, data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday show.

The number of Hungarians working abroad reached 108,000 and the number of people in fostered work programs was 78,000. The employment rate for the 15-64 age group stood at 74.8%.

The jobless rate in Hungary for people between the ages of 15 and 74 stood at 4.4% in December. In absolute terms, there were 211,000 unemployed. The number of employed reached 4,624,000.

Data from the National Employment Service (NFSZ) show there were 216,000 registered jobseekers at the end of December, down 2.2% from twelve months earlier.

Jobseekers spent 12.7 months, on average, looking for work, but 39.1% of the jobless found new positions in under three months. The percentage of jobless who had been looking for work for at least one year reached 36.2%, KSH says.