Cautious optimism among Hungarian companies: more are planning to expand their workforce, but uncertainty has increased

A smaller proportion of Hungarian employers see the coming part of this year negatively in terms of their economic situation than half a year ago: while in September last year 12% of them expected it to perform negatively in this regard, this year only 7% of them expect it to perform negatively. At the same time, the proportion of those who are uncertain has increased significantly: while previously 8% of them could not judge the development of their economic situation, this proportion has now increased to 18%. 39% of companies expect an improvement, which is a 5 percentage point decrease compared to previous data, while 36% do not expect any change in this regard. Based on the survey, the majority of companies do not expect a significant deterioration, but at the same time, the wait-and-see attitude has noticeably strengthened in assessing the economic outlook.

Companies are also less decisive in assessing the expected economic situation of their competitors: 36% of them indicated that they currently do not have a clear view in this area, the proportion of this group was smaller last year, 25%. The growing uncertainty regarding the situation of competitors may indicate that it is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to predict market processes, which may also make strategic planning more cautious.

Headcount plans overall show a more stable picture than the economic outlook, even if some companies have become more uncertain in their decisions. Companies’ confidence in this area has also decreased, as has the proportion of those expecting a significant decline in staff numbers. While in September 2025, 3% of companies considered themselves uncertain about the development of their employee numbers this year, this proportion had increased to 9% by February this year. However, they are less likely to expect a decrease in the size of their employee base than last year: the proportion of this group has decreased from 17% to 10%. There is no significant change in the proportion of those planning to keep their workforce largely unchanged (40%) and those anticipating growth (42%), indicating that although some companies are waiting to see how things will turn out due to the uncertainty of the economic environment, the labor market continues to show stability rather than decline.

The plans for the budget for hiring also reflect more restrained expectations. The stability of the workforce remains a priority for the majority of companies: 63% of companies expect their HR budget to be essentially unchanged, which is a 3 percentage point increase compared to the previous data. The survey showed that job portals remain the most important recruitment tools in Hungary, while free channels – such as recommendations and social media – are also present.

According to Profession.hu data, the number of active job seekers has decreased somewhat this year, but it is still considered particularly high. Employers do not expect any significant changes in recruitment either: the majority of companies (60%) plan to keep the recruitment process unchanged compared to 2025, and 26% expect much longer procedures. The majority of companies therefore expect stable operations in recruitment processes, while some are preparing for a slowdown in selection processes.