The figure was up from 356,900 in March-May but down from 449,500 in the same period a year earlier. A total of 51% of the unemployed had been seeking work for one year or more.

The average time spent looking for work was 19 months. The KSH noted that the National Labour Office registered 439,000 jobseekers in Hungary at the end of June 2014, down 11.8 % twelve months earlier.

The data published Wednesday are in line with ILO (International Labour Organisation) statistics and include people with all forms of employment contracts who have worked more than one hour a week during the period or are on sick leave or paid absence.

The data also include those employed in public work schemes and those working abroad for less than one year. Analysts told MTI that labour market trends are gradually improving with the recovery of the economy and employment data are not driven by public work schemes alone.

Péter Fazakas of Buda-Cash Brokerage noted that the number of employed rose by 190,000 from a year earlier, according to the data. At the same time, the number of people employed by fostered work schemes increased by just 23,000, showing the schemes were not the only impetus behind the improvement.

Orsolya Nyeste of Erste Bank said that the fresh data, adjusted for the effect of the fostered work schemes, shows a slow but gradual improvement in labour market trends, which is in harmony with the economic recovery.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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