More than 210 thousand unemployed in Hungary

The jobless rate in Hungary for people between the ages of 15 and 74 stood at 4.3pc in March, data released by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) on Friday show.

In absolute terms, there were 211,000 unemployed. The number of employed reached 4,701,000. For the period January-March, the average number of employed reached 4,692,000. The number of people employed on the primary market stood at 4,525,000. The number of Hungarians working abroad reached 102,000 and the number of people in fostered work programmes was 65,000.

The employment rate for the 15-64 age group stood at 75.2pc, edging up 0.4pp from the same period a year earlier. Data from the National Employment Service (NFSZ) show there were 233,000 registered jobseekers at the end of March, down 1.5pc from twelve months earlier.

Jobseekers spent 13.1 months, on average, looking for work, but 42pc of the jobless found new positions in under three months. The percentage of jobless who had been looking for work for at least one year reached 37pc. Commenting on the fresh data, Sándor Czomba, the state secretary for employment policy, said the number of employed was “outstanding”, while the jobless rate remained under the European Union average. The number of registered jobseekers is at a low not seen since the change of system, he added.

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