In the view of the future vice-chair of the parliament’s Economic and Energy Committee and outgoing chief advisor to the prime minister—who is now entering parliament as a Fidesz politician—the employment rate is nearly at a record high, real wages have risen significantly, inflation has been contained, and the savings of Hungarian families are steadily growing.
In political debates about the state of the Hungarian economy, the opposition is increasingly claiming that the country must be rebuilt from the ruins. Piroska Szalai, the future vice-chair of the parliament’s Economic and Energy Committee, however, believes that economic and social indicators clearly refute this narrative.
In an interview with the newspaper Magyar Nemzet, the politician explained that over the past decade and a half, Hungary has worked its way up from the bottom of the European rankings to near the top in many areas.
Ms Szalai said labor market data best reflects the state of the Hungarian economy, as she explained that the labor market is the most important sector of the real economy.
In 2010, there were about 3.7 million people employed in Hungary, but today there are already around 4.7 million people working. That represents an increase of one million.”
The future vice president emphasized: “The employment rate today stands at 81.1% among the 20- to 64-year-old age group, which matches Germany’s figure; we are seventh best in Europe.”
Regarding unemployment, Szalai noted that this figure in Hungary was near a historic high in 2010. “In 2010, the government inherited the second-worst unemployment rate of the post-political transition era. Today, however, we are well below the EU average; our rate of 4.4% is the eighth-lowest,” she said.
In Ms Szalai’s view, income growth also shows that the Hungarian economy is on stable footing, as the average income in 2010 was around 200,000 forints (550 euros), while today it already exceeds 700,000 forints (1,900 euros).
Even taking inflation into account, incomes have nearly doubled in real terms,”
she said, adding that real wages rose by around 90% between 2010 and 2025. She emphasized that growth of 24.5% had also been recorded over the past four years.
“In 2024, Hungary recorded the third-highest real wage growth in the European Union, and the improvement achieved since 2021 ranked second within the OECD,” she explained.
Szalai stated that debates about Hungarian inflation are often marked by political manipulation. She noted that in January 2023, the inflation rate was still 25.7%, which had fallen to 1.4% by February 2026.
Such a sharp and rapid decline in inflation is unprecedented in the history of the global economy,”
she said.
In her view, government measures, such as the margin freeze and the reduction of utility costs, played an important role in this. “Food inflation has been in negative territory since November. As Eurostat data from March confirmed, inflation in the food category in Hungary stood at -4.1%, which is the lowest figure in the European Union,” she emphasized.
Szalai also highlighted that energy prices for Hungarian households remain the lowest in Europe. In her view, this contributes significantly to Hungarian families being able to save more.
In the Commission’s vice president-designate’s view, social indicators are also showing improvement, as the number of people unable to cover an unexpected expense has dropped significantly by 4.4 million, and the number of those unable to afford a car for financial reasons has fallen by 1.3 million.
Numerous indicators of financial hardship have improved in Hungary, and we are now in a better position than the EU average; we are in the upper middle range,” she explained.
As Ms Szalai saw it, the rise in savings also reflects the sound financial situation of Hungarian families. “Hungary ranks among the top in the EU in terms of savings indicators,” she said. “This shows that it is not just a small elite that can set money aside, but also broad segments of society,” she emphasized.
Regarding GDP growth, the vice president-elect acknowledged that the Russia-Ukraine war and the energy crisis posed a major challenge for Europe (not to mention that EU aid had been withheld for years – Editor’s note.)
“Although GDP growth was only moderate after 2023, while Hungary remained in positive territory overall during this period, the decline in GDP was 1.2% in Germany and 0.9% in Austria,” she explained, emphasizing:
At current prices (nominal GDP), Hungarian GDP rose by 32% between 2023 and 2025.”
She noted that rising wages, pensions, and family benefits were financed not through borrowing, but from economic output, and regarding public debt, she pointed out that in 2010, public debt stood at around 80.2% of GDP, whereas today it has fallen to 74.6%.
The average public debt in the European Union is higher today than Hungary’s figure, and in several Western European countries it is well over 100%,”
she said.
Ms Szalai believes that the figures as a whole show that Hungary’s economic and social situation is stable. “One can spread political slogans, but facts are stubborn things. The figures do not speak of ruins, but of a strengthened country,” explained the prime minister’s chief advisor.
Via Magyar Nemzet; Featured image: Pixabay
