Hungary’s GDP rose by 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the previous year and by 4 percent for 2017, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) announced.
Offical figures show that growth in Q4 was supported by market-based services and the construction sector. The pace of growth accelerated from 3.9 percent in Q3, KSH said.
According to MTI, adjusted for calendar effects, Q4 growth was up by 4.8 percent. Reconciled data, adjusted for both seasonal and calendar effects, show GDP rose by 4.9 percent.
In a quarter-on-quarter comparison, GDP growth was 1.3 percent in Q4, adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects. Unadjusted full-year growth was a hair under the official government target of 4.1 percent.
The economy ministry attributed about one percentage point of last year’s headline GDP growth to an agreement on wage rises it reached with employers and unions late in 2016. Hungarians took home 1,100 billion HUF (351.5m EUR) more last year because of the 12.9 percent wage increase and the 70,000 jobs added to the economy.