Unemployment rate decreased to 4.1%
In the period of July–September 2017, the average number of unemployed people was 189 thousand, 38 thousand fewer than a year earlier, and the unemployment rate decreased by 0.8 percentage point to 4.1%. The unemployment rate was lower for men than for women, and the rate of improvement was also higher among them.
In July–September 2017, compared to a year before:
The number of 15–74 year-old unemployed men decreased by 31 thousand to 91 thousand, and their unemployment rate by 1.3 percentage points to 3.6%. The number of unemployed women declined by 7 thousand to 98 thousand, and their unemployment rate by 0.3 percentage point to 4.6%.
The unemployment rate of the 15–24 age group decreased by 1.3 percentage points to 11.3%, but one-fifth of unemployed still belonged to this age group. The unemployment rate of those aged 25–54, i.e. persons belonging to the ‘best working age’ decreased by 0.8 percentage point to 3.5%, and the rate for persons aged 55–64 fell by 0.5 percentage point also to 3.5%.
The average duration of unemployment was 15.4 months; 40.6% of unemployed people had been searching for a job for one year or more, i.e. were long-term unemployed.
The unemployment rate of people aged 15–74 decreased in all regions except Southern Transdanubia where the increase was 0.4 percentage point. The change was the most significant in Southern Great Plain where the unemployment rate fell by 1.8 percentage points to 3.7%, but a significant, 1.5 percentage point decrease was observed in Northern Great Plain too, which resulted in an unemployment rate of 7.2%. In the other regions, the rate of change did not reach 1 percentage point. The unemployment rate was the lowest, 2.2% in Western Transdanubia, and, despite the outstanding improvement, the highest in Northern Great Plain among the regions.
At the end of September 2017, compared to a year earlier:
According to the administrative data of the National Employment Service (http://eu.munka.hu/), the total number of registered jobseekers decreased by 4.8% to 268 thousand.
Unemployment among 15–74* year-olds by age groups, July–September 2017
| Age group, year-old | Number | Unemployment rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thousand persons | change, thousand personsa) | % | change, percentage pointa) | |
| 15–24 | 38.9 | –6.2 | 11.3 | –1.3 |
| 25–54 | 124.3 | –27.7 | 3.5 | –0.8 |
| 55–74 | 25.3 | –4.1 | 3.3 | –0.6 |
| Total | 188.5 | –38.0 | 4.1 | –0.8 |
* Data of the 15-64 age group are available (2.1.0.2. STADAT-table).
a) Compared to the same period of the previous year.