Working In Hungary 'Increasingly Worthwhile' Says Economy Ministry

  • 2 May 2018 6:57 AM
  • Hungary Matters
Working In Hungary 'Increasingly Worthwhile' Says Economy Ministry
Addressing International Workers’ Day, the economy ministry said in a statement that thanks to tax cuts and pay rises, working in Hungary was becoming increasingly worthwhile.

Since 2010, the jobless rate has fallen by two-thirds to a historic low and real wages have been growing for over five consecutive years, the ministry said.

Thanks to a wage agreement signed between representatives of the government and businesses in 2016, similarly to last year, the minimum wages for both skilled and unskilled workers rose by more than 10% at the beginning of 2018.

In addition to working on reaching full employment, the government’s goal is to ensure that workers feel the effects of Hungary’s economic growth, the ministry said.

At the beginning of 2018, net wages calculated excluding family benefits were 56% higher compared with early 2010. At the same time, real wages rose by more than 32% and by more than 38% including family benefits over the past eight years, the statement said.

Hungary’s GDP growth rate of above 4% suggests that wages are likely to continue growing in the coming period, leading to increased employment and a continued steady rise in living standards, the ministry added.

  • How does this content make you feel?

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

  • Hungarian Spy Network Exposed in Brussels

    Hungarian Spy Network Exposed in Brussels

    • 16 Oct 2025 6:31 AM

    Hungarian intelligence services operated a spy network in Brussels during the 2010s, targeting the European Union by attempting to recruit Hungarian nationals working within EU institutions. Their activities were unusually blatant and careless, resulting in the exposure and collapse of the entire network by 2017, as revealed by investigative reports by Direkt36 in collaboration with Belgian and German partners.

  • H.E. Mr. Justin McKenzie Smith is the New British Ambassador to Hungary

    H.E. Mr. Justin McKenzie Smith is the New British Ambassador to Hungary

    • 14 Oct 2025 4:57 PM

    H.E. Mr. Justin McKenzie Smith, the United Kingdom’s new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary presented his credentials to H.E. Dr. Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary at Sándor Palace. In line with diplomatic tradition, he then laid a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Heroes’ Square. 

  • Hungarian Spy Network Operating in Brussels Uncovered

    Hungarian Spy Network Operating in Brussels Uncovered

    • 10 Oct 2025 11:31 AM

    An investigation by Direkt36 has revealed that Hungarian intelligence services operated a covert spy network in Brussels throughout much of the 2010s, targeting Hungarian nationals working within EU institutions.

  • Strike Halts Waste Collection Across Budapest - What's Next?

    Strike Halts Waste Collection Across Budapest - What's Next?

    • 25 Sep 2025 7:14 AM

    Garbage collection in Budapest halted on Wednesday morning, due to a spontaneous, unannounced wildcat strike by several hundred MOHU employees at the Ecseri út depot in Budapest, who expressed 'unhappiness' over shortages of cleaning kits, work clothes, boots, and spare parts for garbage trucks.