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HUNGARY JOBLESS RATE 3.6%

Hungary’s rolling average three-month jobless rate stood at 3.6% in May-July, the same as the previous period and down from 4.2% in the same period a year earlier, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said.

The rate covers unemployment among those between the ages of 15 and 74. In absolute terms, there were 166,200 unemployed in Hungary in May-July, 1,100 more than in AprilJune but 27,200 fewer than in the same period a year earlier.

The unemployment rate among 15 to 24-year-olds stood at 10.2%, changing only marginally from a year earlier. Still, the age group accounted for about one-fifth of all unemployed. The unemployment rate for 25 to 54-year-olds dropped 0.5 percentage points to 3.2% and the rate among 55 to 74-year-olds was down 1.0 percentage point at 2.4%.

Out-of-work Hungarians spent about 15.5 months on average looking for employment during the period. About 38.1% of the unemployed had been seeking work for one year or longer.

The number of employed Hungarians during the period stood at 4,483,600, up 9,000 from the previous three-month period and up 50,000 compared to one year earlier. The employment rate was 60.3%, slightly up from 60.2% in the previous period and up from 59.4% from a year earlier. The employment rate in May-July was 67.9% for men and 53.1% for women. The number of employed included 159,100 Hungarians in fostered work programmes and 107,300 working abroad.

KSH defines “employed” in line with International Labour Organisation standards as anybody who worked one or more hour a week or was temporarily absent from their job during the survey week. The data also include those employed in public work schemes and those working abroad for less than one year.