Report published September 25, 2026

Fresh Cracks Emerge in Hungary's Labour Market: ING Economic Analysis

ING · September 25, 2026

Hungary's unemployment rate edged up to 4.8% for the June–August period, near a 10-year high, as corporate cost rationalisation and demographic decline weighed on employment. ING maintains its full-year unemployment forecast of 4.5%, but notes upside risks due to prolonged geopolitical uncertainty.

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Finvaulta summarizes ING's analysis. Attribute opinions, forecasts, time-sensitive values, and chronology to the issuer and report date; do not treat this page as an independent verification or a current market-data source.

Key Takeaways

1.Hungary's official three-month moving average unemployment rate rose to 4.8% for June–August, just 0.1ppt below the 10-year high recorded at the end of 2025.
2.The total number of unemployed individuals climbed to 230,000–235,000, with one in three jobless workers searching for employment for longer than a year.
3.Employment declined by roughly 21,000 month-on-month from July to August as companies implement workforce rationalisation amid rising labour costs and weak business sentiment.

Fresh cracks emerge in Hungary’s labour market
Changes in the labour market since mid-2022 ('000, 3-m moving avg)
Historical trends in the Hungarian labour market (%)

Report data

Changes in the labour market since mid-2022 ('000, 3-m moving avg)

Metric	Estimate	Context
Unemployment rate (3-month moving average)	4.8%	Moved upwards to 4.8% from previous 4.6%, vs ING estimate of 4.7%
Monthly model unemployment rate	4.7%	Unemployment rate rose to 4.7% based on monthly model estimate
Number of unemployed people	230,000-235,000 people	Approaching a 10-year high
Change in employment	-21,000 people	14,000 left the labour market, while 7,000 joined the unemployed
Decline in labour market supply from peak	-180,000 people	Fewer people in the labour market supply side compared to mid-2022 peak