35 thousand fewer people in employment than a year before
Over the period of July–September 2020, the average number of employed people1 was 4,486 thousand; the employment rate of people aged 15–64 was 70.2%. The employment rate for men did not change significantly compared to the same period last year, while for women it decreased. The employment rate for men was higher than for women. In September 2020, the average monthly number of employed people was 4 million 482 thousand, which is 32 thousand fewer than in the previous month.
In July–September 2020, compared to a year before:2
The number of employed people decreased by 0.8% to 4,486 thousand. The number of people working in the primary labour market did not change significantly, the number of people who declared themselves to be public workers decreased by 16 thousand, and the number of people belonging to Hungarian households but working abroad decreased by 21 thousand.
Number of employed people aged 15–74, July–September 2020
| Denomination | Number, thousand persons | Change in headcount a) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| thousand persons | % | ||
| Work in the domestic primary labour market | 4 296.6 | 1.9 | 0.0 |
| Public workers b) | 91.8 | –16.2 | –15.0 |
| Employed persons working abroad and belonging to a household living in Hungary | 97.2 | –21.2 | –17.9 |
| Total | 4 485.5 | –35.5 | –0.8 |
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 403 thousand were classified as employed, with an overall employment rate of 70.2%. The number of the employed among men aged 15–64 decreased by 9 thousand to 2,431 thousand, and their employment rate was 77.6%, which did not change significantly. Regarding 15–64 year-old women, the number of the employed declined by 31 thousand to 1,973 thousand, and their employment rate by 0.3 percentage points to 62.8%.
The number of employed people in the young age group (15–24 years) decreased by 15 thousand to 279 thousand and the employment rate decreased by 1.1 percentage points to 28.1%. Among the so-called best working age population (25–54 years): the number of employed decreased by 38 thousand to 3,412 thousand people, and the employment rate decreased by 1.2 percentage points to 83.2%. In the older, 55–64 age group, the number of the employed increased by 14 thousand to 712 thousand and their employment rate grew by 3.4 percentage points to 60.3%, 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 – did not change, it was 75.5%. The European Union has set a target value of 75% for 2020 which Hungary achieved again after a decline in the second quarter. Currently the employment rate for this age group is 83.6% for men and 67.4% for women.
Budapest had the highest (75.3%) employment rate of 15-64 year olds. Among the regions, the level of employment grew fastest (by 1.0 percentage point) in Budapest compared to the previous year. Northern Hungary was characterized by the lowest value, where the employment rate was 65.2%, but the employment level was similarly low in Southern Transdanubia (65.4%). The highest decrease – compared to the same period last year – was in Northern Hungary, where the employment rate declined by 1.1 percentage point.
Employment among 15–64 year-olds by age group, July–September 2020
| Age group, year-old | Number | Employment rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thousand persons | change, thousand persons a) | % | change, percentage point a) | |
| 15–24 | 279.5 | –15.3 | 28.1 | –1.1 |
| 25–54 | 3 411.8 | –38.1 | 83.2 | –1.2 |
| 55–64 | 711.8 | 13.9 | 60.3 | 3.4 |
| Total | 4 403.1 | –39.6 | 70.2 | –0.1 |
| Of which: 20–64 | 4 374.7 | –35.7 | 75.5 | –0.0 |
a) Compared to the same period of the previous year.
In September3 2020
In September, 4 million 482 thousand people were employed, 32 thousand fewer than in the previous month and 24 thousand fewer than in September last year.
The employment rate of 15–64 year olds was 70.3%, 0.4 percentage points lower than in August and 0.3 percentage points higher than in September last year.