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KSH: OVER 5% OF JOBS UNFILLED IN HEALTH-CARE SECTOR

 

Over 5% of jobs are unfilled in Hungary’s health-care sector, business daily Világgazdaság said, citing data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH). The sector employs some 42,000 doctors and 104,000 nurses, with 3.8% of doctor and 3.4% of nurse positions vacant, the paper said. The biggest shortage is in the area of in-patient hospital care, with a 6.2% shortage of doctors and a 5% shortage of nurses and assistants.

A survey by the Hungarian Chamber of Health-care Workers (MESZK), however, found that worker shortage was actually 2-3 times higher. “The biggest worker shortages are in central and western Hungary,” MESZK chairman Zoltán Balogh said, commenting on KSH’s data. In the 2018 survey, head nurses reported a 15-20% worker shortage, with most respondents saying the situation could become critical within five years. Balogh attributed the shortages to low wages, pointing out, however, a recent positive trend in wage growth within the sector.