Characteristics of the Hungarian labour market during the coronavirus crisis

ABSTRACT

Start of the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020 has brought about substantial changes in the labour market. The aim of the article is to summarize effects of the pandemic on employment based on analyses available, and to show the changes in indicators in the Hungarian labour market. A comparison with the European Union relevant figures helps to better understand the processes in the country. The switch to work at home or telework, the decline in the employment level and the increase in the level of unemployment in terms of age groups and geographical areas had considerably different features in the three waves of the pandemic. The aggregate labour market indicators do not reflect the extent of the shock to employment as they ignore the consequences of the widely used short-time work, and that many redundant employees were less willing to register as unemployed.