Last year was an outstanding one from the aspect of women’s employment: their employment rate exceeded 52 percent, which has been unprecedented in the past twenty years, Ministerial Commissioner Piroska Szalai, responsible for improving the labour market prospects of women, said at a press conference in Budapest.

The number of women in employment increased by 42 thousand in 2012, and the majority of these were in full-time jobs. The number of women who had a job and children under the age of six years was up by 15 thousand, the Ministerial Commissioner added.

According to the latest data on the Job Protection Action Plan, which entered into force in January, employers applied contribution allowances to the wages of 710 thousand employees. In the initial four months of the year, a total of HUF 35bn were left with employers; this was the amount by which their contributions were reduced, Piroska Szalai said.

The Ministerial Commissioner emphasised that in April allowances were received by 27 thousand employees who were returning to work after their childcare allowance and maternity benefit period had ended. With regard to such employees, employers can further economise, as currently 190 thousand women are in employment whose youngest child is below the age of 6 years, and of these more than 27 thousand are thought to have returned to work in the past three years, she added.

Speaking about employment data in detail, Piroska Szalai said that last year the employment rate for women aged 40-49 years and 50-54 years increased to 77 percent and 73 percent, respectively, and these figures both beat EU averages by 3 percent. Moreover, the employment rate of 75 percent for women whose youngest child is older than 12 years is 4 percent higher than the EU average. 74 percent of Hungarian women with higher education qualifications are in employment. These groups constitute a formidable force on Hungary’s labour market. However, only every second woman aged 55-59 years has a job, and only every third aged 20-24 years.

Also only every third woman whose youngest child is below the age of 6 years is in employment, and only every fourth among those with low educational qualifications. On the other hand, employment data also improved last year with respect to these groups, Piroska Szalai said.

The Ministerial Commissioner emphasized that 41 percent of managerial positions are held by women in Hungary, which is the second best indicator among the countries of the EU. This year, women’s employment will be further enhanced by the positive effects of the Job Protection Action Plan.

The Government is planning additional measures to improve the institutional system of day care facilities, along with other important steps in the fields of taxation and labour policy which are currently under discussion.

(Ministry for National Economy)