103 thousand fewer people in employment than a year before
The economic consequences of the coronavirus epidemic affected the study period in its entirety, so their effects are reflected in the reported employment data.Over the period of April–June 2020, the average number of employed people1 was 4,408 thousand; the employment rate of people aged 15–64 was 68.7%. Both sexes saw a decrease, however, employment rate for men was higher than for women.In June 2020, the average monthly number of employed people was 4 million 457 thousand, which is 58 thousand more than in the previous month and 38 thousand fewer than a year earlier.
In April–June 2020, compared to a year before:2
2.3% fewer, 4 million 408 thousand people were employed. Employment declined by 55 thousand in the primary labour market, by 28 thousand among those who declared themselves to be public workers and by 19 thousand among members of Hungarian households working abroad.
Number of employed people aged 15–74, April–June 2020
| Denomination | Number, thousand persons | Change in headcount a) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| thousand persons | % | ||
| Work in the domestic primary labour market | 4,229.6 | –55.4 | –1.3 |
| Public workers b) | 80.7 | –28.0 | –25.8 |
| Employed persons working abroad and belonging to a household living in Hungary | 98.0 | –19.2 | –16.4 |
| Total | 4,408.2 | –102.6 | –2.3 |
a) Compared to the same period of the previous year.
b) Based on the respondent's self-classification.
Of those aged 15-64, 4 million 316 thousand were classified as employed, with an overall employment rate of 68.7%. The number of the employed among men aged 15–64 decreased by 45 thousand to 2,383 thousand, and their employment rate by 1.1 percentage points to 76.0%. Regarding 15–64 year-old women, the number of the employed declined by 72 thousand to 1,933 thousand, and their employment rate by 1.6 percentage points to 61.4%.
In the young age group (15–24 years), employment decreased by 29 thousand to 257 thousand and the employment rate by 2.4 percentage points to 25.7%. Among the so-called best working age population (25–54 years): the number of employed decreased by 94 thousand to 3,359 thousand people, and the employment rate decreased by 2.6 percentage points to 82.0%. In the older, 55–64 age group, the number of the employed was 701 thousand, but their employment rate grew by 2.7 percentage points to 58.8%, partly for demographical reasons.
The employment rate of people aged 20–64 – the coverage regarding the development of employment objectives defined in the Europe 2020 Strategy – decreased by 1.1 percentage points to 74.0%. Hungary has already reached the EU target of 75% by 2020 before the coronavirus epidemic. In this age group, the epidemic reduced the employment rate to 82.1% for men and 66.1% for women.
The employment rate of 15–64 year-olds decreased in all regions except Budapest. The capital city was in the best position with an employment rate of 73.5%. The regions showing the sharpest decline in employment were Western Transdanubia and Southern Great Plain, both decreasing by 2.7% to 71.5% and 66.8% respectively. Southern Transdanubia recorded the lowest employment rate at 64.2%,
Employment among 15–64 year-olds by age group, April–June 2020
| Age group, year-old | Number | Employment rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thousand persons | change, thousand persons a) | % | change, percentage point a) | |
| 15–24 | 256.6 | –28.7 | 25.7 | –2.4 |
| 25–54 | 3,358.5 | –94.3 | 82.0 | –2.6 |
| 55–64 | 700.9 | 5.3 | 58.8 | 2.7 |
| Total | 4,316.1 | –117.7 | 68.7 | –1.3 |
| Of which: 20–64 | 4,296.4 | –107.1 | 74.0 | –1.1 |
a) Compared to the same period of the previous year.
In June 20203
On a monthly average, 4 million 457 thousand people were employed, 58 thousand more than in the previous month and 38 thousand fewer than in June last year.
The employment rate of 15–64 year olds was 69.4%, an increase of 0.9 percentage point compared to May and a decrease of 0.5 percentage point compared to June of the previous year.