“Employment in Hungary has continued to rise without interruption thanks to the expanding private sector, the reduction of payroll taxes and the Workplace Protection Programme ...” the ministry said.

Péter Virovácz, chief analyst at ING Bank, noted that the number of unemployed, below 230,000, had never been this low in Hungary since the regime change.

Gergely Ürmössy, at Erste Bank, said they expect the annual unemployment rate to be at 5.4% this year, adding that an easing could further continue next year to an average 5%.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.