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Hungary’s real wages projected to grow more than anywhere else in EU

The economic policy objectives of the Hungarian government remain unchanged: robust and sustainable economic growth, financial stability, full employment, a reduction of government debt, tax cuts and higher wages.

Published: April 21, 2018, 9:10 pm

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    Budapest

    This rosy outlook was described by the country’s Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga at the annual staff meeting of the Hungarian Banking Association.

    Besides the strengthening of families and maintaining their safety, the new Government is prioritizing sustainable development and the improvement of competitiveness, Varga noted.

    Hungary’s real wages are projected to grow by 4.9 percent in 2018. Real wages as a measure, differs from nominal wage, since it is already corrected for inflation. This type of economic growth actually directly benefits the population.

    GDP growth may strictly be of academic importance if wages remain the same, and it may be due largely to population growth. While GDP may be increasing in some countries, profits are still landing in pockets of those who own capital.

    Most countries that have adopted the Euro are struggling to register even 1 percent in economic growth, while ordinary the Hungarians have benefited from a growth in real wages.

    Varga said Hungary’s re-elected leader, Viktor Orbán has asked him to continue in his post as minister and become the head of the economic cabinet.

    Due to the inadequate economic policies of prior governments, Hungary had lost its position as the region’s economic powerhouse a decade ago and instead of achieving high growth the gap with regional peers began to widen.

    However, efforts since 2010 have enabled Hungary to become the leading force of the region again, the Minister stated. Not only growth, but the decrease of the government debt-to-GDP ratio from about 80 percent in 2010 to 72 percent currently and the decision of all three major credit rating agencies to restore Hungary’s investment grade status have created a firm foundation, he added.

    These results will also help maintain economic growth of some 4 percent in coming years – well above the EU average.

    Varga said that the number of people in employment had risen from 3.7 million in 2010 to almost 4.5 million now, and the respective unemployment rate had fallen from 12 percent to 3.8 percent.

    At the bottom of the list is the United Kingdom, with a real wage decrease of -0.7 percent, as a result of the sharp increase in immigration some argue.

    Following Hungary’s example, are Latvia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. All have seen a real wage growth of over 3 percent.

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