Hungary’s jobless rate was 4% in February, up from 3.9% in the previous month, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Friday. The rate covers unemployment among people between the ages of 15 and 74. The number of jobseekers came to 195,800, 4,000 more than a month earlier and 17,400 more than in February 2022. The employment rate for the 15-74 age group reached 64.1% in February, down from 64.3% in January. In absolute terms, there were 4,691,100 employed in February, 7,700 fewer than in January but 26,000 more than twelve months earlier. The number of economically active people in the age group stood at 4,886,900, an activity rate of 66.8%.
Commenting on the data, the economic development ministry said the European Union’s average jobless rate was about 1.5 times higher than that of Hungary. Simultaneous growth in the number of jobholders and jobseekers means that hitherto unregistered workforce is becoming more active in the country, the statement said. The government is working to protect full employment, avoid recession and push inflation into single digits by year-end through programmes like the Széchenyi Card Programme, the factory saving scheme and the Baross Gábor loan programme for companies, it said.