Economy 22 October 2025, 9:55am

Hungarian labor market stabilizes, although employment remains below last year's levels

Portfolio

The September data published today by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) show a stable labor market situation. Both employment and unemployment show minimal changes. The number of active workers is rising slightly, suggesting that the slight deterioration in the labor market has come to a halt.

adó-munkaerőpiac-foglalkoztatás-szocho-adókedvezmény

In September, 4.5 million people were employed in the domestic primary labor market (i.e., excluding public workers and commuters to foreign countries), which is practically unchanged from the previous month, according to data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH). The big picture remains unchanged:

the slight decline in employment seen during the recession has stopped, and the situation is now characterized by stagnation.

However, the 4.504,000 workers registered in the domestic primary labor market are still 41,000 fewer than in the same period last year. The number of public sector employees was 72,000, while the number of people working abroad was 103,000.

The situation is similar with unemployment: in the period from July to September 2025, the average number of unemployed people aged 15–74 was 221,000, and the unemployment rate was 4.5%. The changes are within the sampling error margin, although it should be noted that after 10 months, the number of unemployed people crept back above 220,000.

Hungary employment 2025oct 02 - unemployed

The number of economically active people (those participating in the labor market) has also shown only minimal change, with a slight improvement in fluctuations visible in recent months.