Published on: 4 January 2018

36 thousand more people in work than a year earlier

In the period of September–November 2017, the average number of employed people was 4,450 thousand, 36 thousand more than a year earlier. The employment rate of people aged 15–64 increased to 68.8%. The employment indicator of men improved to a greater extent than that of women.

In September–November 2017, compared to a year before:

The number of employed people increased by 0.8% to 4,450 thousand. The increment in the domestic primary labour market was 85 thousand, while the number of people declaring to work in public employment decreased by 37 thousand and that of those working at local units abroad by 11 thousand.

Number of employed people aged 15–74, September–November 2017

Denomination Number, thousand persons Change in headcounta)
thousand persons %
Work in the domestic primary labour market4 160.684.62.1
Consider themselves public worker183.3–37.5–17.0
Work at local units abroad106.3–11.3–9.6
Total4 450.235.90.8

a) Compared to the same period of the previous year.

4,402 thousand of employed people were aged 15–64, and their employment rate grew by 1.3 percentage points to 68.8%. The number of the employed among men aged 15–64 increased by 1.9% to 2,412 thousand, and their employment rate rose by 2.2 percentage points to 76.1%. Regarding 15–64 year-old women, the number of the employed essentially stagnated, it was 1,990 thousand, while their employment rate – due to demographic changes – grew by 0.5 percentage point to 61.7%.

Among young people aged 15–24 years, the number of the employed was 307 thousand, and the employment rate was 29.6%. The number of employed people increased in the ‘best working age’, i.e. the 25–54 age group, as well as their employment rate by 1.2 percentage points to 84.2%. As in the older, 55–64 age group, the number of the employed was essentially stagnant, while their employment rate grew by 1.5 percentage points to 52.5%.

The employment rate of people aged 20–64 – the coverage regarding the development of employment objectives defined in the Europe 2020 Strategy – grew by 1.4 percentage points to 74.0%. 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 82.0% for men and 66.1% for women.

Employment among 15–64 year-olds by age groups, September–November 2017

Age group, year-old Number Employment rate
thousand persons change, thousand personsa) % change, percentage pointa)
15–24306.5-4.629.60.3
25–543 408.440.384.21.2
55–64687.32.352.51.5
Total4 402.238.168.81.3
Of which: 20–644 375.338.074.01.4

a) Compared to the same period of the previous year.