38 thousand more people in work than a year before
Over the period of October–December 2019, the average number of employed people was 4,520 thousand, 38 thousand more than a year earlier. The employment rate of people aged 15–64 increased to 70.3%. The level of employment was higher among men than among women, and the rate of improvement was also higher for men.
The annual average number of the employed was 4,512 thousand in 2019, exceeding the one in 2018 by 43 thousand. In 2019 the employment rate among the population aged 15-64 was 70,1%, 0.9 percentage point higher than in the previous year.
In October–December 2019, compared to a year before:
The number of employed people increased by 0.9% to 4,520 thousand. The increase in the domestic primary labour market totalled 52 thousand and that for those working at local units abroad was 9,5 thousand, while the number of people declaring to work in public employment decreased by 24 thousand.
Number of employed people aged 15–74, October–December 2019
| Denomination | Number, thousand persons | Change in headcounta) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| thousand persons | % | ||
| Work in the domestic primary labour market | 4,291.4 | 52.3 | 1.2 |
| Consider themselves public workers | 108.2 | –23.5 | –17.9 |
| Work at local units abroad | 120.0 | 9.5 | 8.6 |
| Total | 4,519.6 | 38.3 | 0.9 |
a) Compared to the same period of the previous year.
A total of 4,438 thousand employed people were aged 15–64, and the employment rate of this age group grew by 0.8 percentage point to 70.3%. The number of the employed among men aged 15–64 was 2,440 thousand, and their employment rate rose by 1.0 percentage point to 77.6%. Regarding 15–64 year-old women, the number of the employed decreased to 1,998 thousand, and their employment rate increased to 63.1% due to demographic reasons.
The number of employed people among young people aged 15–24 years decreased by 17 thousand to 286 thousand people, and the employment rate by 1.3 percentage points to 28.5%. In the ‘best working age’, i.e. the 25–54 age group, the number of employed people increased by 40 thousand to 3,451 thousand people, and the employment rate grew by 0.5 percentage point to 84.3%. In the older, 55–64 age group, the number of the employed essentially did not change, it was 700 thousand, and their employment rate grew by 2.1 percentage points to 57.7%.
The employment rate of people aged 20–64 – the coverage regarding the development of employment objectives defined in the Europe 2020 Strategy – grew by 0.9 percentage point to 75.6%. The European Union has set a target of 75% by 2020; in Hungary, the employment rate of this age group is currently 83.4% for men and 67.8% for women.
The level of employment of the population aged 15-64 changed hardly or within the limits of sampling error in most of regions. Budapest was characterised by the most favourable employment situation, where the number of employed increased by 17 thousand, the employment rate by 1.6 percentage points to 74.7%. The growth was the most significant in Pest Region and Western Transdanubia, 1.8 and 1.6 percentage points. The proportion of the employed was the lowest in Southern Transdanubia, at 64.6%.
Employment among 15–64 year-olds by age group, October–December 2019
| Age group, year-old | Number | Employment rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thousand persons | change, thousand personsa) | % | change, percentage pointa) | |
| 15–24 | 286.1 | –17.2 | 28.5 | –1.3 |
| 25–54 | 3,451.1 | 40.4 | 84.3 | 0.5 |
| 55–64 | 700.4 | –2.0 | 57.7 | 2.1 |
| Total | 4,437.6 | 21.2 | 70.3 | 0.8 |
| Of which: 20–64 | 4,409.4 | 23.1 | 75.6 | 0.9 |
a) Compared to the same period of the previous year.
In January-December 2019, compared to a year before:
The number of employed increased by 43 thousand to 4,512 thousand. The increase in the domestic primary labour market totalled 68 thousand and that for those working at local units abroad was 11 thousand compared to the last year, while the number of people declaring to work in public employment decreased by 37 thousand.
A total of 4,436 thousand of the employed belonged to the population aged 15-64; the employment rate of this age group increased by 0.9 percentage point to 70.1%. The rate increased by 1.0 percentage point to 77.3% for men, and by 0.7 percentage point to 63.0% for women.
All the observed age groups were characterized by a growth in the employment rates, except for young people aged 15-24. The employment rate of young people decreased by 0.5 percentage point to 28.5%, that of those in the ‘best working age’, the 25-54 age group grew by 0.4 percentage point to 84.4% and among the elderly population aged 55–64 by 2.3 percentage points to 56.7%.
In the age group 20–64, the rate rose by 0.9 percentage point to 75.3%.