Jobless rate 3.8 percent in June

The rate covers unemployment among people between the ages of 15 and 74.

In absolute terms, there were 187,000 unemployed, 800 more than in May.

In April-June, the unemployment rate was at 3.9 percent, up 0.7 of a percentage point from the previous year. The number of jobseekers between the ages of 15-74 rose by 36,000 to 193,000.

Meanwhile, the average number of employed persons aged 15-74 in June came to 4.766 million, 51,000 more than the previous year. In the April-June period, the number of employed was 4.724 million, 31,000 more than a year earlier.

Commenting on the data, Sandor Czomba, the state secretary for employment policy at the ministry of economic development, said that even amid difficult economic circumstances affected by war and sanctions, the government was not only protecting jobs but increasing them.

He said the jobless level in the EU was 1.5 times higher than in Hungary.

The government aims to protect jobs and families by restoring economic growth and maintaining high investment activity, while strengthening the country’s competitiveness. Its economic action plan includes a price cap on electricity and it has freed businesses from fixed-price electricity contracts, among other protective measures, he added.