Hungary’s unemployment rate has dropped by 1.7 percent, according to Hungary’s Central Statistical Office (KSH).
Experts maintain that the real unemployment rate is higher than the official figure, which counts Hungarians working abroad and people working for the stateʼs workfare program as employed.
In the period February to April 2016, the number of people aged 15-74 years in employment rose by 153,000, year-on-year, to 4.3 million. This has been the highest figure in 26 years, and it is up by 585,000 since 2010, when the term of the new government began.
The employment rate of those aged 15-64 years gained 2.8 percentage points, to 65.6 percent.
As far as the gender aspect of employment is concerned, indicators show improvement for both men and women.
The employment rate of men aged 15-64 years grew by 3.5 percentage points to 72.2 percent, compared to the same period of the previous year.
The rate of women in this age group exceeded the 59 percent mark for the first time ever. Compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, this indicator gained 2.1 percentage points, one of the largest increases within the EU, and two-and-a-half times more than the EU average.
The employment rate of those aged 15-24 years rose by 2.9 percentage points, to 27 percent, and the number of people with a job rose to 290,000 in this category.
The unemployment rate continued to fall: shedding 1.7 percentage points, it dropped to 5.8 percent. The respective number of jobless people decreased by 73,000 and it fell to 265,000.
Incoming data shows that job growth is accelerating, thanks mainly to private sector hiring. Hungarian reforms, such as lower taxes on labor and the Job Protection Action, and the positive growth trend reversal in 2013 have contributed to favorable labour market data.