Hungary’s three-month rolling average jobless rate reached 4.4 percent in September, edging down 0.2 of a percentage point from the previous month, but still 0.9 of a percentage point over the rate a year earlier because of the coronavirus crisis, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Thursday show. In absolute terms, the number of jobless rose 37,000 from August and 57,000 from the same month a year earlier.
The rate covers unemployment among people between the ages of 15 and 74.
In absolute terms, there were 208,300 unemployed, 6,100 fewer than in the previous month, but up 45,800 from a year earlier.
Continuing a practice begun several months earlier because of the coronavirus crisis, KSH released data for the month of September alone showing the average number of jobless stood at 222,000, bringing the unemployment rate to 4.7 percent. In absolute terms, the number of jobless rose 37,000 from August and 57,000 from the same month a year earlier. The unemployment rate for the month was up 0.8 of a percentage point from August and 1.2 percentage points from the same period a year earlier.
KSH said it published the September data to better show the impact of the pandemic on the labour market, although it acknowledged that the numbers do not have the same degree of accuracy as the three-month rolling average figures.
KSH noted that data from the National Employment Service (NFSZ) show there were 323,000 registered jobseekers at the end of September, one-third more than twelve months earlier.
Featured photo illustration by Márton Mónus/MTI
