Page 10 - bne_newspaper_August_02_2019

Central Europe
August 2, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 10
Hungary’s jobless rate hits record low at 3.3%
bne IntelliNews
The jobless rate in the April-June period fell to a record low of 3.3%, down from 3.6% for the same period a year earlier, and edged down by 0.1pp from the previous three-month period, Hungary's Central Statistics Office (KSH) said on July 29.
The number of unemployed fell by 9,700 in the last 12 months to 155,500. The unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group accounting for one-fifth of all unemployed rose to 10.8% from 9.5% in the base period. The unemployment rate in the 25-54 age group was 2.9%, and the rate in the 55-74 age group stood at 2.5%.
The jobless figures show big disparities by region. In the western part of Hungary, the unemployment rate is below 2%, while it is near double-digits in the undeveloped rural parts in the northeastern counties.
On average, the unemployed spent 14.4 months looking for a job, while some 35.6% of the unemployed had been seeking work for one year or longer.
The better-than-expected reading is due
to falling unemployment among women while joblessness among men stagnated, ING Bank said, adding that the improvement in the jobless rate was marginal.
There is still more potential to fill vacant jobs with younger and older employees but they cannot
permanently alleviate structural labour shortages, Peter Virovacz said.
In the private sector, competition for workers will continue to be strong, which may keep wage growth high, said the ING Bank analyst. In the second half of the year the unemployment rate could be around 3.4% and he does not expect it to fall significantly lower.
The Hungarian labour market has reached its peak in terms of employment, other analysts said. The remaining labour pool, estimated at 250,000- 300,000, consists of unskilled workers or those who are difficult to employ and some form of policy intervention would be needed to get them to work, Takarekbank said.
The number of employed in the 15-74 age group grew by 36,000 to 4.5mn. The figures include 108,700 people in fostered work programmes, falling by 58,000 from last year, and 117,200 working abroad, up 10,000 in the same period. The number of workers on the primary labour market increased further by 84,500 y/y.
The employment rate in the 15-64 and 20-64 age groups rose 0.7pp, respectively to 70% and 75.2%. In the employment objectives defined in the Europe 2020 Strategy, the EU set a target of 75% for the employment rate in the 20-64 group.