Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said he would address labor shortages with demographic and family policy solutions.
PM Orbán said that Hungary needs more children and stronger families, because “if more children are being born, more of us in Hungary will be working”.
“Countries in Europe want to solve the issue of labor shortages with migration and immigrants, because their time horizons do not extend past tomorrow," he said..
Reducing payroll taxes is “an issue of means” and a “good thing”, according to the prime minister, but it is important that this also fits into longer-term plans.
He also noted that, while there are a number of jobs that cannot be filled in Hungary, there is still unemployment. This means that there are “internal reserves” which have to be mobilized.
The prime minister emphasized that currently Hungary has the fifth lowest unemployment rate in Europe, at around 5 percent. This is a tremendous achievement, he said, especially considering that in 2010 Hungary’s unemployment rate was around 12 percent.
PM Orbán declared that it is by no means impossible to ensure that everyone in Hungary who wants to work can actually work. He also drew attention to the fact that wages have been steadily increasing, while Hungary’s competitiveness has been improving, unemployment has been falling, and the economy has been expanding.