Quarterly labor market analysis: wage increases are the most likely to mobilize employees

Profession.hu has prepared its labor market analysis for the last quarter of 2024. In the period under review, job search activity was similar to that of a year earlier on Hungary’s most visited job portal: 4.84% more job applications were submitted than in the last three months of 2023.

With the exception of five counties, users submitted more applications for vacancies available through the portal across the country than at this time last year, with the highest rates in Fejér (+33.7%), Bács-Kiskun (+24%), and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (+18.3%). In contrast, there was a decrease in Békés (-16.6%), Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (-12%), Hajdú-Bihar (-4.2%), Nógrád (-3.6%) and Heves (-1%).

Job seekers’ applications increased the most in this period compared to last year for positions advertised in the business support centers (+34.9%), followed by law, legal advice (+22.9%) and construction, real estate (+20.4%). However, in one year, employee interest in the opportunities available in the categories of customer service, after-sales service (-7.6%), IT programming, development (-5.4%) and IT operation, telecommunications (-3.8%) decreased.

Labor recruitment slowed down the most in Nógrád County

In the last quarter of 2024, the number of advertised jobs in most counties was lower than the advertisements activated in the same period of the previous year, which represents a national average decrease of 0.3%.

“No significant rearrangement of the labor market is expected in the first half of 2025 regarding the dynamics of demand and supply. Our year-end survey shows that slightly fewer employers surveyed are considering layoffs than in 2024 (their share decreased from 13% to 11%) and the share of those who are looking at this year with an unchanged number of employees has increased from 35% to 40%. These projections do not predict a significant trend reversal, but considering the tight macroeconomic conditions, we can also be happy with this moderate optimism”

– said Imre Tüzes, Business Development Director at Profession.hu.