From February to March 2024, more than 2,000 Hungarian workers left their jobs in Austria, according to recent statistics from the Austrian Social Insurance (SV).
More specifically, Austria recorded 124,158 Hungarian workers in March 2024. This figure represents a decrease compared to the previous month, where the Hungarian workforce accounted for 126,169, .
According to the Világgazdaság newspaper, SV took into account only registered full-time workers to come up with this data. Furthermore, the number of Hungarian workers is forecasted to decrease in the upcoming months, as noted by the Hungarian newspaper.
It is always difficult to predict, but based on the experience of previous years and due to the seasonality of the Austrian labour market, it is expected that the number of Hungarians working in Austria will continue to decrease in the coming months, so that by the summer they may even form the most populous foreign worker community in the neighbouring country, as there was already a precedent.
Apparently, there would be several jobs available for them in Hungary since the country is facing labour shortages.
The deputy president of the National Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers (VOSZ), Attila Gazsi, said that to tackle the shortages, Hungary should attract its overseas nationals, as reported recently by Portofolio.
The key element of dynamizing the labour market is to attract Hungarian workers working abroad, since their return can increase the productivity of the domestic workforce with new skills, such as higher efficiency, advanced methods and industrial practices.
1 in 8 Foreign Workers in Austria Is Hungarian
Despite 2,000 Hungarians leaving the Austrian labour market, Hungary once again emerged among the primary sources of foreign workforce in Austria.
Along with Germans, Hungarians lead the list of foreign workers in Austria. Overall, the most representative foreign countries in the Austrian labour market were:
- Germany (127,706)
- Hungary (124,158)
- Romania (78,356)
- Türkiye (64,498)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (62,316)
- Croatia (60,560)
- Serbia (49,964)
- Poland (45,088)
- Slovakia (44,017)
- Slovenia (28,543)
Total Number of Foreign Workers Increased By Nearly 25,000
As further revealed by the SV statistics, Austria recorded 997,418 registered foreign employees in March 2024.
Such a figure represents an increase of more than 25,000 compared to the same period in 2023 when the number of foreign workers accounted for 972,554.
During this period, Austria saw an increase in workers coming from Germany, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia.
On the other hand, the Austrian labour market experienced a decrease in the case of Romania, Türkiye, Poland, and Slovenia.