Hungarian companies are optimistic about their economic situation, but cautious about their staffing plans

Confident economic expectations

The survey addressed how the employers surveyed see the next year in terms of their economic situation. The answers do not paint a negative picture compared to previous years. Only 12 percent of companies expect a decrease, and there has been no significant difference in the past two years. However, the proportion of those expecting stagnation has increased since last year, from 30 to 34 percent. Based on data from the past two years, nearly half of employers expect an improvement in the aforementioned area, and this has not changed significantly since 2023. During the pandemic, in 2022, companies were much more pessimistic about their own expected business situation, with only one-third planning growth in this area.

Caution in the field of staffing

Shortening recruitment time, more frequent quality complaints

“This change can be justified by the decrease in the number of job advertisements and the still high level of employee activity. Based on the employers’ responses, the proportion of applicants who are less committed has increased: they withdraw from the process or simply terminate the relationship with the company that received their application without any indication. Last year, 26 percent of employers reported a similar problem, and this year the proportion has increased to 34 percent. However, the labor market situation has brought about a qualitative improvement in terms of applicants: fewer employers reported deficiencies in the candidates’ professional skills or language skills. The increased number of applicants has made it more difficult for companies to select suitable candidates. With their help, we created our free service for our corporate clients, the Job Report, which is based on a large database and provides an accurate picture of the job market in real time, broken down by sector and region”