Employment in Hungary - statistics & facts

Despite Hungary’s decreasing population, the economic activity rate has increased in the country over the past decade due to a growing number of people seeking employment to keep up with the rising cost of living. In 2023, the economic activity rate for the population aged 15 to 74 reached over 67 percent, marking an increase of approximately 10 percentage points compared to the value recorded in 2010.

The manufacturing industry provides many job opportunities

For several years, the Hungarian economy underwent a phase of strong development, which contributed to the creation of a high number of workplaces. Consequently, 2023 presented the highest employment rate in Hungary since the beginning of the 2010s, totaling approximately 75 percent. During the same year, the majority of employees in the country were professionals, their number reaching 894,000 followed by technicians and associate professionals. Reflecting the country’s role as a manufacturing powerhouse, in 2022, the manufacturing industry counted by far the highest number of employees, reaching over 710,000. In the same year, wholesale and retail trade ranked second, counting more than 410,000 employees.

Unemployment is on the rise again

Despite the significant improvement in fighting unemployment Hungary has shown since the 2000s, unemployment, and long-term unemployment figures are on the rise again. During this period, the country recorded the lowest unemployment rate in 2019, at 3.42 percent. However, this figure followed an increasing trend over the next years and reached 4.09 percent by 2023. In 2023, the proportion of long-term unemployed individuals in the total unemployed population reached 35 percent, while the lowest figure was recorded in 2020 at 28 percent. To curb unemployment rates, the Hungarian government launched a public work program in 2013, providing jobs instead of unemployment benefits to people who could not find work. Since the start of the program, the highest number of participants has been recorded in 2016 at nearly 203 thousand individuals. Nevertheless, the number of people participating in the public work scheme decreased over the following years, reaching 66 thousand in 2023.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Flora Medve, Apr 11, 2024

Key insights

Number of economically active individuals in Hungary
4.9m
Employment rate in Hungary
74.8%
Unemployment rate in Hungary
4.4%
Get more insights

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Employment rates by gender in Hungary 2009-2022

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