Hungary’s minimum wage will increase by 11 percent from January, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Thursday, following months of negotiations between employers’ groups and trade unions. The guaranteed minimum wage (bérminimum), applied to skilled workers, will rise by 7 percent.
Minimum wage increase confirmed
Orbán confirmed the agreement in a Facebook post, calling the deal a “serious commitment” made possible by an accompanying 11-point tax reduction package designed to ease the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the prime minister, these tax adjustments will cut SMEs’ fiscal obligations by around HUF 90 billion.
According to Telex, the government expects the wage rise to directly benefit roughly 700,000 Hungarian families next year. Orbán added that the impact will be even greater once planned increases to family tax allowances take effect.
Lower rise than originally planned
The newly announced figures fall short of what government officials previously suggested. National Economy Minister Márton Nagy had repeatedly floated the possibility of a 13 percent rise earlier this year, arguing that a double-digit increase would still be feasible despite the challenging economic climate.
However, expectations had to be scaled back after growth projections weakened significantly. Instead of the earlier forecast of around 3 percent GDP expansion for 2025, the economy is now expected to grow by less than 1 percent. As a result, the three-year wage agreement signed last November—under which the minimum wage would have risen to HUF 328,600 next year—had to be renegotiated.
Employer organisations had warned that a 13 percent hike would be unsustainable for many companies and could trigger a wave of bankruptcies. Trade unions, on the other hand, argued that Hungarian wages remain far below the EU average and contended that a more ambitious increase would still be justified.
EU context
Despite the downward revision, an 11 percent rise still places Hungary among the EU countries implementing some of the largest minimum wage increases this cycle, according to earlier analysis by G7.
Orbán concluded his announcement with a note of optimism, thanking all parties involved in the negotiations. “We believe in developing the economy, raising wages and cutting taxes. Let’s hope for no worse start to the year than this,” he wrote.
Tax cuts, minimum wage hike… I think I have heard these before. Yup, just like just before 2022 elections. Nothing “breaking” about this news, perfectly predictable show from Fidesz.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungarys-orban-sets-stage-2022-vote-with-wage-hike-tax-handout-families-2021-06-10/
And look how great Hungary still is at the end 2025 – firmly at the bottom of the barrel when comparing EU nations economies. Any leader can make tax cuts and handouts for a short period, just like Fidesz is doing every 4 years around election time. I would like to see a permanent change in Hungarian leadership that would strive for a steady increase in our economy with co-operating with EU. With Fidesz you only have leaders who in their own words just “Believe in developing the economy… “ but not actually doing what would be the best for our economy.
Look at our historic, patriotically-raised minimum wage — a gleaming achievement that leaves the ‘Brussels elite’ in awe!
Sure, Hungarian inflation once soared as the EU’s highest and our purchasing power still limps behind, but focus on the percentage, comrades, not the actual value. While our neighbors’ workers fret over real wages, ours bask in the government’s mathematically generous optics.
It’s not a struggle; it’s a uniquely Hungarian economic miracle where the number rises triumphantly as the grocery bill quietly conquers your wallet.
Looks like Hungarians still believe in fairytales🤣