Hungary

In case of the logistics sector, white-collar salaries have not changed significantly other than the typical 2-5% inflation-tracking growth. Regarding the production sector, until COVID-19 salaries had been increasing by 5-10% YoY, especially for electrical engineering and automation positions, due to new large investment projects in Hungary. In the case of the R&D sector, it differs slightly in that salaries are generally 5-10% higher than in other technical positions, however since the start of COVID-19 they are all stagnating and we do not expect a huge change during the remainder of 2020.

The most sought-after positions in the production sector are currently for electrical engineers, HVAC engineers (electrical and mechanical areas), automation engineers, electrical technicians and maintenance technicians. In the logistics sector, companies are mainly looking for demand and supply planners, logistics specialists, procurers (buyers), transportation coordinators, forklift
operators, warehouse administrators and customs administrators.

The logistics sector has recently seen an increased number of applications and higher level of application willingness in the market. At the beginning of 2020, we saw an increased number of open positions compared to the decreasing number of quality candidates. Due to the virus, this has started to change, and open positions compared to the number of active candidates were less and less day by day throughout the second quarter of the year. As for the production sector, the candidates' availability has also increased, and we are recording more active applications in the market. On the other hand, passive candidates are showing less willingness for new opportunities since they prefer a stable and financially healthy current employer. Certain profiles of electrical engineers and freshly graduated white-collar workers are currently the most available group of candidates, and we do not expect this to change over the coming months.

The highest level of employee availability can be seen in Budapest, Miskolc, Veszprém, Debrecen, Győr, Szeged, Kecskemét and the Jászság region. Overall, the North Transdanubia (Győr, Veszprém), Budapest and its suburbs and the Northern and Eastern parts of the Great Hungarian Plain region (Miskolc, Debrecen, Kecskemét,
Jászság) are the most attractive nowadays. The Southern and Southern-Western parts of Hungary (Pécs, Kaposvár) are less popular but the government is trying to help these parts grow.

Logistics started to develop dynamically in order to accommodate production needs and will most probably get back on track by 2021, resulting in the need for a greater number of white-collar professionals (engineering, quality, logistics, maintenance, etc.). Manufacturers are also increasingly demanding innovative solutions in warehousing and inventory management. The growing use of automation and robotics in their facilities to achieve a "smart factory" may result in greater blue-collar jobs and availability in the future.

Numerous large-scale new investments in the automotive industry have been made recently in Hungary, mainly in the areas of electromobility and other areas that support innovation in the sector. After the effects of COVID-19 have subsided, we expect this trend to swiftly bounce back. These investments always shake-up the market in terms of the need for candidates, often with hundreds of new vacancies, create greater candidate availability through the willingness to change for something new and often a slight upward pressure on salaries.

Payments in Hungary