Varga addresses OECD labour committee on job growth

Paris (MTI) – Hungary has seen great results in employment policy and wants to share good practices for boosting employment and reducing the jobless rate, Hungary’s economy minister said in Paris on Friday.

Mihaly Varga addressed a meeting of ministers of OECD countries in the organisation’s Employment, Labour, and Social Affairs Committee.

Speaking to MTI on the event’s sideline, Varga said Hungary has managed to channel disadvantaged groups back into the labour force. Through its fostered work schemes the government had been able to re-integrate 12-13 percent of those enrolled in the programme onto the primary labour market, he said. Hungary has achieved with its fostered work scheme a “break-through” in proving to OECD which had originally held reservations about the programme that it could serve as a “first step” for people to return to the real labour market after 5-6 years on unemployment, he said.

“We have proved to OECD that the Hungarian scheme works, it is successful and worth sharing as a model with other countries,” Varga noted.

Hungary’s employment growth was one of the fastest among OECD countries over the past five years, Varga said, noting that 563,000 people have found jobs during that period.