Economic development ministry: Hungary needs some half a million new jobholders by 2030

The country needs further investments for catching up in terms of economic growth which cannot be hindered by a shortage of labour, the ministry said in a statement.

A tool in ensuring adequate workforce is in boosting the economic activity of the Hungarian population and creating work opportunities for the unemployed, the ministry said, underscoring the need to train or teach new skills to the estimated pool of 300,000 people in labour reserve. Foreign workers may only be employed if vacant jobs cannot be filled with local workforce, it said, noting that compared with the other three Visegrad countries, Hungary employs the fewest foreign workers relative to the size of its labour market. Hungary applies a quota on foreign guest workers coming from non-EU member states with the aim to protect its domestic labour market.

The number of jobholders has been hovering around 4.7 million for more than six months in Hungary which has an unemployment rate well below the EU average. The number of employed has increased by 1 million since 2010 during which period the number of registered jobseekers has dropped by 400,000, the ministry said.