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Fair employment

2.5

Employment statistics are improving due to public works schemes, but unemployment rate among the unskilledstill remains high. Employment figures among women and the elderly are growing, though large income disparities are still to be found. The overtime rate is still high, meaning that those with a job work too much. The country seems unable to get out of the unemployment trap.

2.5

Foglalkoztatás

A statisztikai adatok kisebb javulást mutatnak 2010-től, és így úgy tűnik, hogy az országnak sikerült legalább részben teljesíteni EU 2020-as foglalkoztatási célját. Ugyanakkor a foglalkoztatás számításának módszertana, az a tény, hogy rengetegen vesznek részt közmunkaprogramokban, valamint az, hogy a külföldön dolgozó magyarok is beleszámítanak a statisztikába, azt jelenti, hogy nehéz megbecsülni a munkaerőpiac valódi javulását Magyarországon ezen statisztikák alapján.

2.0

Tartós munkanélküliség

A tartós munkanélküliség aránya a munkanélküliségi rátára vetítve szintén nőtt, mivel a tartós munkanélküliség aránya gyorsabban nőtt, mint a munkanélküliség. 2012-ben a tartós munkanélküliség szintje 1,1 százalékponttal magasabb, mint az EU átlag, ami riasztó. 5-ös osztályzat akkor született volna, ha a ráta a periódus végére 3 százalék alá csökkent volna, mivel a tartós munkanélküliség különösen káros hatással van a humántőkére.

3.0

Employment in agriculture

While the number of people in permanent employment by agricultural businesses was slightly lower than the 2010 figure, seasonal employment grew by 36 percent. Both figures indicate adverse changes in terms of declining retention capacities for both the agricultural sector and the countryside as a whole along with the number of people who can only find work on a seasonal basis and thus become increasingly vulnerable. 31 per cent of farmers are aged over 65, whereas the rate of those under 35 is a bare 6.1 percent – being a clear indicator of an aging agricultural population and unfavourable changes in the age structure. In 2013, nearly 3 percent of farmer were college or university graduates, and more than 7 per had received relevant vocational education at the secondary level. Nevertheless, the vast majority (nearly four fifths) are still only relying on their practical experience.

3.5

In work at risk of poverty

The proportion of workers exposed to the risk of poverty was 5 to 6 per cent in the period 2008 to 2012. This ratio was much lower than the EU average for 2012 (9.2 percent).

2.0

Low work intensity

The trend is deteriorating despite the fact that a significant share of those participating in public work schemes work more than 8 weeks per year. The 12.8 percent rate is 1.5 percentage points higher than the EU average.

3.0

Youth employment

The impact of the public works program can be felt in the statistics. However, there is an even more conspicuous phenomenon: multitudes of young people receive no education in any form over 18 years of age.

2.0

Gender pay gap

Men keep earning 20-22% more than women in the same position.

2.5

Environmentally friendly enterprises

The evolution of green jobs is assessed with reference to the indicator of the organizational coverage of the EMAS Eco-Management and Audit Scheme per million inhabitants. In this field, Hungary showed moderate improvement on several accounts between 2008 and 2012: our indicator value grew from 1.69 to 2.92, which is significantly better than the V4 average of 1.49, measured in 2012. However, the Hungarian figure is significantly below the 8.87 EU value measured for the Union at large, and for this dimension, our performance is on the border of the sufficient and the mediocre, which merits a grade of 2.5.

2.0

Employment

The statistics indicate a slight improvement from 2010, and so it seems that the country has managed to at least partially meet the EU's 2020 employment targets. However, the methodology used to quantify employment, along with the fact that many people are involved in public work programs, and the fact that the expatriate Hungarians are calculated to fall within the statistics, means that it is difficult to estimate the real improvement in the labour market in Hungary on the basis of those statistics.

2.5

Decent working conditions

Approaching the dimension of decent working conditions from the perspective of excessive working hours, one can say that decent working conditions are insufficiently met. According to OECD data, more than 92.5% of the 25-54 year-old population typically worked more than 40 hours a week in 2012, and the overtime rate declined only slightly compared to 2008. This ratio is slightly above 52% in the 15 “old” member states of the European Union (having been part of the EU already before the 2004 enlargement), and it is still well below the Hungarian figure in the other Visegrad countries, with the V4 average at 87.4% in 2012.

3.0

Employment of elderly people

The employment rate for workers aged 55 to 64 is slowly increasing as the legal retirement age is also increasing. Currently Hungarian employment rate is just 12 percentage points below the EU average; however this is partly due to the fact that legal retirement age currently is below 64. A grade of 5 would be given if the rate came within a 10% range of the EU average after raising the legal retirement age over 64.

2.0

Permanent unemployment

Long-term unemployment also increased relative to unemployment, as the long-term unemployment rate grew faster than unemployment. In 2012, the level of long-term unemployment is an alarming 1.1 percentage points higher than the EU average. A rating of 5 would have been awarded if the rate had dropped below 3 per cent by the end of the period, as long-term unemployment has a particularly detrimental impact on human capital.