At the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, asylum seekers and migrants passing through Hungary in search of a better life further west were greeted by billboards reading ‘If you come to Hungary, you can’t take a Hungarian’s job’.
Eight years on, the Hungarian government has changed its tune somewhat and is trying to attract foreign workers to fill a chronic labour shortage. But the government is discovering to its chagrin that it’s a victim of its own success.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an outspoken critic of immigration in any form, admitted in a speech to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in March that some 500,000 new workers would be needed to meet labour demand over the next few years.
Over the past two decades, Orban’s government has based the country’s economic growth on a heavy reliance on foreign direct investment. In 2022 alone, foreign investment amounted to €6.5 billion in 92 major deals, creating around 15,000 new jobs.
Germany remains the biggest investor in Hungary. BMW is building a new plant in Debrecen, which will require 1,500 workers by 2025, while Rheinmetall, an automotive and arms manufacturer, will need to hire several hundred people for its new plant in Zalaegerszeg.
The Hungarian government has also been courting investment from Asian countries such as China and South Korea, particularly in the battery sector. China’s CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, is expected to create 9,000 jobs in Debrecen; Sunwoda announced in July that it would build a new battery factory in Nyiregyhaza, creating 1,000 jobs; and a third Chinese battery company, Eve Power, has signalled another 1,000 jobs at its new factory in Debrecen.
Overall, experts say at least half of the estimated 500,000 new workers will have to come from abroad.
“Hungary has practically reached full employment, there is clearly a need for guest workers,” Zoltan Pogatsa, a political economist, tells BIRN, adding that with unemployment at 3.9 per cent, there should still be some labour market capacity in Hungary.
Unfortunately, the country seems to have given up on some 200,000 people – mostly referred to as Roma – who, if properly trained, could be integrated into the labour market. “Unfortunately, they are seen as a lost cause and not worth the effort,” says Pogatsa.
Instead, both the government and the business sector are cautiously opening up to the idea of attracting foreign workers. And with local labour reserves already exhausted, recruitment agencies are now venturing as far afield as the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Mongolia.
Hungary is a regional latecomer. The country has 9.8 million inhabitants, but only around 100,000 foreign workers. The Czech Republic, which is roughly the same size, employs 700,000 foreign workers, and Austria is home to 1 million, according to the Human Centrum recruitment agency.
Even if the current numbers were doubled or tripled, Hungary would still lag far behind its regional peers, experts say.
