Labour · Europe & Central Asia · High income
Hungary: the labour market
Labour force is 4.9m (2025), 87th of 187 in the world and 20th of 49 in Europe & Central Asia. Participation rate is 60.6% (2025), 98th of 187 in the world and 20th of 49 in Europe & Central Asia. Women's participation is 54.3% (2025), 88th of 187 in the world and 26th of 49 in Europe & Central Asia.
Labour force
Hungary
Participation rate
HungaryEurope & Central AsiaHigh incomeWorld
13 indicators
Labour: Hungary in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Europe & Central Asia; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour forceLabour force, total | 4.9m2025 | 87/187 | 20/49 | 4.3m | 4.4m | 4.8m | +4.8%since 2015 | 429m | 734m | 3.7bn | |
| Participation rateLabour force participation, % of 15+ | 60.6%2025 | 98/187 | 20/49 | 51.2% | 52.0% | 58.4% | +4.4 ppsince 2015 | 58.2% | 61.0% | 61.0% | |
| Women's participationFemale labour force participation, % of women 15+ | 54.3%2025 | 88/187 | 26/49 | 45.6% | 46.6% | 51.3% | +4.4 ppsince 2015 | 51.1% | 54.3% | 48.9% | |
| Employment rateEmployment to population ratio, 15+ (ILO) | 57.8%2025 | 92/187 | 19/49 | 47.8% | 46.2% | 56.0% | +5.5 ppsince 2015 | 55.1% | 58.3% | 58.1% | |
| UnemploymentUnemployment, % of labour force (ILO) | 4.5%2025 | 113/187 | 37/49 | 6.6% | 11.2% | 4.2% | −2.3 ppsince 2015 | 5.4% | 4.4% | 4.8% | |
| Female unemploymentFemale unemployment, % of female labour force (ILO) | 4.4%2025 | 116/187 | 35/49 | 5.8% | 10.7% | 4.4% | −2.6 ppsince 2015 | 5.7% | 4.6% | 4.9% | |
| Youth unemploymentYouth unemployment, ages 15–24 (ILO) | 14.2%2025 | 83/187 | 25/49 | 12.9% | 26.4% | 12.9% | −3.1 ppsince 2015 | 14.0% | 11.5% | 13.4% | |
| Youth NEET rateYouth not in education, employment or training, % | 9.5%2025 | 139/170 | 24/46 | 15.4% | 12.6% | 11.7% | −2.0 ppsince 2015 | 11.4% | 10.6% | — | |
| Wage workersWage and salaried workers, % of total employment | 88.4%2025 | 25/187 | 11/49 | 84.8% | 87.7% | 88.0% | −0.6 ppsince 2015 | 83.3% | 88.9% | 53.6% | |
| Vulnerable employmentVulnerable employment, % of total employment (ILO) | 7.8%2025 | 163/187 | 38/49 | 11.8% | 9.0% | 8.5% | −0.1 ppsince 2015 | 12.9% | 8.0% | 42.4% | |
| Jobs in agricultureEmployment in agriculture, % of total employment | 4.1%2025 | 139/187 | 26/49 | 6.2% | 4.5% | 4.7% | −0.8 ppsince 2015 | 6.7% | 2.9% | 25.8% | |
| Jobs in industryEmployment in industry, % of total employment | 30.5%2025 | 20/187 | 8/49 | 34.0% | 30.7% | 31.9% | +0.2 ppsince 2015 | 23.7% | 22.2% | 23.7% | |
| Jobs in servicesEmployment in services, % of total employment | 65.4%2025 | 77/187 | 29/49 | 59.8% | 64.8% | 63.4% | +0.6 ppsince 2015 | 69.7% | 74.9% | 50.6% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Women's participation+4.4 pp54.3% in 2025
- Employment rate+5.5 pp57.8% in 2025
- Unemployment−2.3 pp4.5% in 2025
- Female unemployment−2.6 pp4.4% in 2025
Worse than ten years ago
- Wage workers−0.6 pp88.4% in 2025
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Hungary and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Hungary. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Hungary | Ukraine | Romania | Austria | Serbia | Slovakia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 4.9m2025 | 20.5m2021 | 8.2m2025 | 4.8m2025 | 3.3m2025 | 2.8m2025 |
| Participation rate | 60.6%2025 | 54.6%2021 | 51.3%2025 | 60.1%2025 | 59.1%2025 | 60.4%2025 |
| Women's participation | 54.3%2025 | 47.7%2021 | 41.8%2025 | 55.1%2025 | 52.6%2025 | 55.1%2025 |
| Employment rate | 57.8%2025 | 49.3%2021 | 48.3%2025 | 56.8%2025 | 54.9%2025 | 57.2%2025 |
| Unemployment | 4.5%2025 | 9.8%2021 | 6.0%2025 | 5.6%2025 | 7.1%2025 | 5.4%2025 |
| Female unemployment | 4.4%2025 | 10.2%2021 | 5.6%2025 | 5.2%2025 | 7.5%2025 | 5.8%2025 |
| Youth unemployment | 14.2%2025 | 19.1%2021 | 24.5%2025 | 11.0%2025 | 20.9%2025 | 18.4%2025 |
| Youth NEET rate | 9.5%2025 | 16.5%2017 | 16.5%2025 | 13.4%2025 | 12.7%2025 | 8.0%2025 |
| Wage workers | 88.4%2025 | 79.0%2021 | 85.5%2025 | 87.8%2025 | 73.0%2025 | 85.1%2025 |