In Hungary, the number of people in employment continued to rise, as 54 thousand more people were in employment in July-September 2013 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) announced in a flash report.

The total number of people in employment thus reached a historic peak of 3 million 990 thousand. This steady rise is also a result of Government measures such as the Job Protection Action Plan or the First Job Guarantee Programme. The Hungarian economy has been back on a growth path which underpins the expectations of accelerating job and employment growth, the speed of which in the near future is anticipated to be even more dynamic than before.

This success is also supported by the latest major foreign investments, made in October, which include, amongst others the Italy-based DAB Production Hungary Ltd opened in Nagykanizsa, as well as a new production site for the Germany-based Rehau conglomerate in the industrial park of Győr. The foundation stone of a Science Park, valued at some 4 billion forints, has also been laid this month at the Debrecen production site of National Instruments (NI) Hungary Ltd.

According to the latest statistics of KSH, wages are also continuing to rise. In January-August 2013, gross and net average wages within the national economy were 3.4 percent and 4.8 percent higher, respectively, year-on-year. Thanks to Government measures, along with the steady increase of real wages, the improving employment trend is also expected to contribute to the stimulation of domestic consumption.

The increasing number of jobs and the concurrent rise of real wages have a positive effect on households’ financial stability. All these factors are signals of a successful Government policy which is anticipated to result in economic growth of 2.0 percent in 2014.

(Ministry for National Economy)