2009.06.29. 12:08
Hungary unemployment rate slips to 9.8pc in March-May
Budapest - Hungary's average unemployment rate was 9.8pc in March-May, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) said on Monday. The rate -- which was the same for both the 15-74 and the 15-64 age groups -- inched down from 9.9pc in February-April, but was up from 7.7pc in the same period a year earlier.
The average number of unemployed was 409,700 in the 15-74 age group in March-May, down 2,100 from February-April. The number of unemployed rose 86,300 from the same period a year earlier.
Hungary's unemployment rate was between 7.5pc and 7.8pc for most of 2008, but rose sharply in the fourth quarter because of the financial and economic crisis.
The number of employed in the 15-74 age group was 3,780,000 in March-May, up 13,300 from February-April. The employment rate rose 0.2 percentage point to 49.1pc in the same period, but fell 0.8 percentage point from a year earlier.
The unemployment rate in the in the 25-54 age group was 9.1pc in March-May, 2.0 percentage points higher than in the same period a year earlier. The unemployment rate for the 15-24 age group rose 6.3 percentage points to 25pc.
The average time the unemployed were out of a job fell to 16.3 months in March-May from 17.8 months in the same period a year earlier because of the growing number of newly unemployed.
The rate of unemployed out of a job for more than one year dropped 6.2 percentage points to 42.2pc.
