Unemployment rate was 3.3%
In the period of October–December 2019, the average number of unemployed people was 155 thousand, and the unemployment rate was 3.3%. Men were characterised by lower unemployment.
In 2019 the annual average number of the unemployed was 160 thousand, i.e. 12 thousand fewer than in 2018. The unemployment rate was 3.4%, 0.3 percentage point lower than in the previous year.
In October–December 2019, compared to a year before:
The unemployment among 15–74 year-old men decreased to 82 thousand and the unemployment rate to 3.2%. Regarding women, the number of the unemployed totalled 74 thousand, and the unemployment rate was 3.5%.
Among people aged 15–24, the number of the unemployed increased to 40 thousand and their unemployment rate by 2.1 percentage points to 12.2%. More than a quarter of the unemployed belonged to this age group. The unemployment rate of the 25–54 age group, i.e. people belonging to the ‘best working age’, decreased to 2.9%, and that of people aged 55–74 decreased to 1.7%.
The average duration of unemployment was 10.6 months; 30.4% 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 Pest Region, Western Transdanubia, Northern Hungary and the Northern Great Plain, while in the other regions, the rate virtually remained unchanged. The unemployment rate was the highest in Northern Great Plain (5.7%) and the lowest in Western Transdanubia (1.6%).
At the end of December 2019, compared to a year earlier:
According to the administrative data of the National Employment Service (https://nfsz.munka.hu/), the total number of registered jobseekers decreased by 2.9% to 235 thousand.
Unemployment among 15–74* year-olds by age group, October–December 2019
| Age group, year-old | Number | Unemployment rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thousand persons | change, thousand personsa) | % | change, percentage pointa) | |
| 15–24 | 39.9 | 5.8 | 12.2 | 2.1 |
| 25–54 | 102.0 | –10.5 | 2.9 | –0.3 |
| 55–74 | 13.4 | –7.4 | 1.7 | –1.0 |
| Total | 155.2 | –12.0 | 3.3 | –0.3 |
* 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.
In January–December 2019, compared to a year before:
The number of the 15–74 year-old unemployed decreased by 12 thousand to 160 thousand, and the unemployment rate diminished by 0.3 percentage point to 3.4%.
The unemployment among 15–74 year-old men did not essentially change; the number of unemployed was 86 thousand, and the unemployment rate was 3.4%. The unemployment indicators of women declined; their number fell by 10 thousand to 74 thousand, and their unemployment rate by 0.5 percentage point to 3.5%.
The unemployment rate among young people increased by 1.2 percentage points to 11.4%, that of those aged 25–54 decreased by 0.4 percentage point to 3.0% and that of those aged 55–74 also decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 2.1%.
The average duration of unemployment was 12.8 months for the whole year; 34.5% of unemployed people had been searching for a job for one year or more.