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27th November, 2025
Employers, unions close to deal on next year minimum wages
Employer and employee organizations are reportedly close to reaching an agreement on next year’s minimum wage.
Sources indicate that most unions would accept an 11% increase in the minimum monthly wage to Ft 323,000 and a 7% rise in the guaranteed minimum wage to Ft 373,000, Portfolio writes.
The National Association of Employers and Industrialists would favour a smaller increase, but the Hungarian Trade Union Confederation seeks a higher guaranteed minimum.
The proposed wage increases would be two percentage points lower than what had been agreed in the three-year wage pact signed last year, as economic data missed government projections, a pre-condition for the renegotiation of the deal.
Participants are forbidden to disclose further information on the wage talks before the official announcement, which is expected next week. (portfolio.hu; mfor.hu; 24.hu; forbes.hu; economx.hu; mandiner.hu)
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27th November, 2025
Erste Bank projects weak growth
Economic growth is set to accelerate from 0.2% to 2% next year, while inflation may slow to 3.8% from 4.5%, according to the latest forecast of Erste Bank.
At a press briefing, analyst Janos Nagy said the German economy has been stagnating for three years, and supply constraints, including the chip shortage, could also impact production at the new BMW plant.
Stable employment and strong wage growth are supporting domestic consumption, despite earlier signs of a slowdown in spring, he added.
As for inflation, analysts forecast the headline figure to dip below 3% in January and February, supported by base effects, the strong forint, government measures, and lower growth in factory gate prices.
However, the inflation expectations of households remain elevated, and the service price inflation is also above the headline data.
Regarding monetary policy, Orsolya Nyeste said the high base rate and the interest rate gap are keeping the forint strong and the currency could remain strong throughout next year.
Erste projects a EUR/HUF rate of around 385 at the end of 2026, supported by a stable current account surplus. (portfolio.hu; penzcentrum.hu)
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27th November, 2025
Nearly 3 million live in housing poverty
More than 30% of the population, nearly 2.9 million people, live in housing poverty in Hungary, according to the housing report published for the 14th time by Habitat for Humanity Magyarorszag.
The organisation examined the impact of housing policy measures in 2024 and 2025 and changes in the affordability of housing.
The researchers say that 15-20% of poor children living in the lower 20% of the income scale live in homes where there are no bathrooms, water flush WCs, or hot water, while one-third of homes are houses with mud walls, and 26% of those aged zero to 17 live in overcrowded properties.
They also found that, although the comfort level of the flats has increased since the 1990 change of regime, hundreds of families live in poor quality overcrowded properties, without public water and the homes of more than a million households have not been modernised – for instance, there is no central heating in their properties.
Last year 1,488 people lost their home due to unpaid utility bills, 985 flats were auctioned off, and families were evicted from 503 local council-run or private flats. (nepszava.hu; hang.hu; 444.hu; telex.hu; 24.hu)
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27th November, 2025
Court orders AKK to release details of 1bn euro Chinese loan contract
State debt manager AKK must make public the terms of a three-year, euro 1 billion loan agreement signed with Chinese banks last year, a first-instance court has ruled in a lawsuit filed by the opposition Democratic Coalition party.
The AKK signed the loan contract with the China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China, and the Bank of China’s Hungarian branch, for infrastructure and energy projects.
Portfolio reported in July 2024 that the AKK tapped the loan three months earlier.
Since then, the debt manager and the government have refused to disclose significant details, such as the interest rates and details on the repayment schedule.
Mihaly Varga, the Finance Minister at the time, said the variable-rate loan offered conditions better than prevailing market rates. The court ruling is not yet final. (portfolio.hu; nepszava.hu; telex.hu; klubradio.hu)
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27th November, 2025
Hungary included in EU funded Pan-European charging network
The consortium grouping E.ON Drive Infrastructure (EDRI) and its partners Voltix, and GreenWay received euro 70.3 million in EU funding to build cross-border charging infrastructure for electric trucks and heavy-duty vehicles by 2028.
The 330 charging points will be located at 55 strategic sites along major European transport routes in nine countries, including Hungary.
Each site is designed to feature a minimum of four charging points. All charging sites will offer 24-hour access and simple payment options.
EDRI already operates more than 8,300 public charging points in 11 European countries, including Hungary. A country-by-country breakdown of the new chargers has not been disclosed. (novekedes.hu; mti.hu)
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