During his regular interview slot on Kossuth Radio this morning, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán talked about the economic steps the government is taking following the coronavirus crisis, noting that most of his efforts and time are spent on protecting jobs because people do not need aid, but work. The goal is to create as many jobs as the virus destroys, or even more. There are currently more than one million people in Hungary whose work has already been helped to some extent by the state.
The prime minister said the number of people who receive unemployment benefits stood at 101,000 yesterday, and 75,000 people have been out of work for more than three months. There are 173,000 Hungarians who want to work and are now turning to the government. The participants in the public works program has grown to 200,000, and there is room for 3,000 soldiers to be recruited.
The government gives money to those who want to invest, PM Orbán stated, confident that the economic protection plan would work. “Now I not only trust, but I also see how it will work. I have a relatively clear picture of what is going to happen,” he said. Things are in hand, we have made good decisions. Even so, it will be a very difficult April statistically and a bad May, he warned.
The prime minister also stressed that owners of Hungarian capital are ready to take action. With more than 100 billion already invested, this could mean that the country can get back to previous growth levels much sooner. “In the coming months, we will devote all of our energy to relaunching the economy, and I am now quite optimistic,” he concluded.
A call center set up for advice on the coronavirus can be reached on +36-80-277-455 and +36-80-277-456 or by email koronavirus@bm.gov.hu