106 thousand more people in work than a year earlier
In the period of January–March 2017, the number of employed people was 4,368 thousand, 106 thousand more than a year earlier. The employment rate of people aged 15–64 increased to 67.1%. The level of employment was higher among men than among women, and the rate of improvement was also higher among them.
In January–March 2017, compared to a year before:
The number of employed people increased by 2.5% to 4,368 thousand. The increment in the domestic primary labour market was 121 thousand, while the number of people declaring to work in public employment and the number of those working at local units abroad slightly decreased.
Number of employed people aged 15–74, January–March 2017
| Denomination | Number, thousand persons | Change in headcounta) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| thousand persons | % | ||
| Work in the domestic primary labour market | 4 055.5 | 121.5 | 3.1 |
| Consider themselves public worker | 200.7 | –7.5 | –3.6 |
| Work at local units abroad | 111.7 | –8.2 | –6.8 |
| Total | 4 367.9 | 105.8 | 2.5 |
a) Compared to the same period of the previous year.
4,323 thousand of employed people were aged 15–64, and their employment rate grew by 2.0 percentage points to 67.1%. The number of 15–64 year-old employed men increased by 2.6% to 2,352 thousand, and their employment rate rose by 2.3 percentage points to 73.8%. The number of 15–64 year-old employed women increased by 2.0% to 1,970 thousand, and their employment rate grew by 1.8 percentage points to 60.6%.
The number of employed young people aged 15–24 years was 299 thousand, and their employment rate increased by 1.6 percentage points to 28.4%. Both the number of employed people in the ‘best working age’, i.e. the age group 25–54 years and in the older, 55–64 age group increased, and the employment rate grew by 1.7 percentage points to 82.7% in the former and by 2.2 percentage points to 50.1% in the latter age group.
The employment rate of people aged 20–64 – the coverage regarding the development of employment objectives defined in the Europe 2020 Strategy – grew by 2.1 percentage points to 72.1%. The European Union targeted to raise the average employment rate to 75% by 2020; in Hungary, the employment rate of this age group is currently 79.5% for men and 65.0% for women.
The level of employment of the population aged 15–64 increased in all of the regions, the growth was the most significant in the two Great Plain regions: 3.6 percentage points in Northern Great Plain and 2.4 percentage points in Southern Great Plain. The employment rate was the highest in Central Hungary (71.1%) and the lowest in Southern Transdanubia (61.9%). In Central Transdanubia and Western Transdanubia characterized by high employment, the growth continued, although the rate of increase was lower than the national average (1.8 and 1.7 percentage points, respectively).
Employment among 15–64 year-olds by age groups, January–March 2017
| Age group, year-old | Number | Employment rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thousand persons | change, thousand personsa) | % | change, percentage pointa) | |
| 15–24 | 299.5 | 9.8 | 28.4 | 1.6 |
| 25–54 | 3 356.0 | 72.5 | 82.7 | 1.7 |
| 55–64 | 667.2 | 15.7 | 50.1 | 2.2 |
| Total | 4 322.6 | 98.0 | 67.1 | 2.0 |
| Of which: 20–64 | 4 298.6 | 97.0 | 72.1 | 2.1 |
a) Compared to the same period of the previous year.