Employment rate (age 20–64)
Employment rate of people aged 20–64, annually since 1996, compared with the EU.
- Latest
- 81.1%2025
- over one year
- 0.0 pp2024: 81.1%
- Record high
- 81.1%2024
- Record low
- 57.8%1997
- Data since
- 199658.1%
Employment rate (age 20–64)
About this indicator
The employment rate shows what percentage of working-age people have a job. In the 2000s Hungary had one of the lowest employment rates in the EU, but it rose above the EU average after 2015.
The latest figure (2025) is 81.1%, under the Orbán Viktor government. The series goes back to 1996; the highest value was 81.1% (2024) and the lowest 57.8% (1997).
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_ergan) · Updated: 27 Oct 2026 21:41 UTC · Download data (CSV)
By government
The value when each government took office and when it left (or the latest figure), plus the average during the term.
| Government | At start | At end / now | Change | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Magyar Péter (Tisza)Magyar · 2026–in office | no data yet | – | – | – |
Orbán Viktor (Fidesz)Orbán II–V · 2010–2026 | 60.1% | 81.1% | +21.0 pp | 72.0% |
Bajnai Gordon (MSZP)Bajnai · 2009–2010 | 61.5% | 60.1% | −1.4 pp | 60.1% |
Gyurcsány Ferenc (MSZP)Gyurcsány · 2004–2009 | 62.0% | 61.5% | −0.5 pp | 62.2% |
Medgyessy Péter (MSZP)Medgyessy · 2002–2004 | 61.1% | 62.0% | +0.9 pp | 61.9% |
Orbán Viktor (Fidesz)Orbán I · 1998–2002 | 58.3% | 61.1% | +2.8 pp | 60.8% |
Horn Gyula (MSZP)Horn · 1994–1998 | 58.1%* | 58.3% | +0.2 pp | 58.1% |
* The series starts during this term, so the starting value is the first available observation.
Data table
| Date | Hungary | EU average |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 81.1% | 76.1% |
| 2024 | 81.1% | 75.7% |
| 2023 | 80.7% | 75.3% |
| 2022 | 80.3% | 74.6% |
| 2021 | 78.9% | 73.1% |
| 2020 | 75.2% | 72.2% |
| 2019 | 75.4% | 73.1% |
| 2018 | 74.5% | 72.3% |
| 2017 | 73.3% | 71.3% |
| 2016 | 71.5% | 70.1% |
| 2015 | 68.9% | 69.0% |
| 2014 | 66.7% | 68.2% |
| 2013 | 63.0% | 67.5% |
| 2012 | 61.6% | 67.6% |
| 2011 | 60.4% | 67.9% |
| 2010 | 59.9% | 67.8% |
| 2009 | 60.1% | 68.2% |
| 2008 | 61.5% | 69.5% |
| 2007 | 62.3% | 69.0% |
| 2006 | 62.6% | 67.9% |
| 2005 | 62.2% | 66.8% |
| 2004 | 62.0% | 66.2% |
| 2003 | 62.4% | 66.1% |
| 2002 | 61.4% | 65.7% |
| 2001 | 61.1% | – |
| 2000 | 60.9% | – |
| 1999 | 60.5% | – |
| 1998 | 58.3% | – |
| 1997 | 57.8% | – |
| 1996 | 58.1% | – |
Related indicators
Share of the labour force looking for work.
Share of under-25s in the labour force looking for work.
The lowest gross monthly wage for full-time work.
Average gross monthly pay of full-time employees.
How much more net pay buys than a year ago, after price rises.