The Ministry for National Economy is launching an employment programme for those unemployed women who are older than 55 years and who have less than one year of the 40-year employment period required for retirement, Minister of State for Employment Sándor Czomba said at a press conference in Budapest.

As the Minister of State said, as of November the programme will provide subsidies for up to 12 months, under which period the Government covers 100 percent of employers’ gross wage and contribution costs for 10 months and the employer endeavours to continue with unsubsidized employment for  2 more months.

The amount of subsidy shall not exceed 125 percent of the minimum wage, which currently is HUF 142 500 per month. Accordingly, the Government may provide funding to employers of up to HUF 1.5 million for 10 months for each such job, while they only incur costs of maximum HUF 300 thousand payable for the extra two months for each job.

This option will be made available for employers not only in the private but public sector as well, the Minister of State stressed.

The programme is estimated to cost some HUF 1.5bn and it is to be covered by the National Employment Fund. Out of that amount, a smaller share is expected to be paid this year, while the remainder will be utilized next year. According to calculations, this amount is expected to help finance the employment of some 1000 women until they reach the retirement age after 40 years of work.

At the press conference, Sándor Czomba underlined that the Government has recently launched several employment policy schemes which had positive effects within months.

As an example for a successful measure, he singled out the First Job Guarantee Programme assisting career-starters to gain job experience which therefore has been re-launched. Currently, more than 8 thousand people are participating in this programme.  Sándor Czomba also called the introduction of housing support a success, as 1100 contracts have been concluded since the scheme began. The amount of funding for job subsidies was increased from HUF 2bn in 2010 to HUF 13bn in 2013.

Sándor Czomba emphasised that the subsidy scheme about to be launched fits well into those programmes which assist the employment of groups of people with poor labour market prospects by well-aimed instruments. The majority of beneficiaries who are anticipated to participate in the programme will come from Budapest, Pest County and the Transdanubia region.

(Ministry for National Economy)