Hungary Jobless Rate Reaches 4.5% in March

The jobless rate in Hungary for people between the ages of 15 and 74 stood at 4.5% in March, data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday show.

The rate was up from 4.3% in March 2025, but down from 4.8% in February.

In absolute terms, there were 219,000 unemployed in March.

The number of employed reached 4,646,000.

For the period January-March, the average number of employed reached 4,627,000, 65,000 fewer than in the same period a year earlier. The number of people employed on the primary market stood at 4,440,000, down 85,000 from a year earlier. The number of Hungarians working abroad reached 119,000 and the number of people in fostered work programmes was 69,000.

The employment rate for the 15-64 age group stood at 74.8%.

Data from the National Employment Service (NFSZ) show there were 223,000 registered jobseekers at the end of March, down 4.1% from twelve months earlier.

Jobseekers spent 12.2 months, on average, looking for work, with 35.3% of them looking for a new position for less than three months. The percentage of jobless who had been looking for work for at least one year reached 36.3%.