BÉKÉS - Employment
Agricultural employment double the national average
In 2001, there were 86 700 employees in the region, representing 3.2% of the total country. The number of employees has increased by 4% compared to 1995, which is less than for the regional and national level. Men represented 57.6% of the active population, against 55.9% and 55.4% regionally and nationally respectively.
The primary sector represented 9.2% of employees of the region (2001 figures), which is about twice the national average. However, the share of this sector has been decreasing between 1995 and 2001 by almost 3 percentage points. The share of the secondary sector is relatively constant over the years, at around 37%, whereas the share of the tertiary sector has increased from 50.6% in 1995 to 54.1% in 2001.
In the city of Békéscsaba, 39% from the active earners are working in industry, 9% in the agriculture and the rest in the commerce and services. Békéscsaba attracts the whole county labour-force. About 35 000 people working within Békéscsaba travel to work area. The availability of capable work force, appropriate infrastructure and flexible labour organisations assure high productivity. In addition, the local educational system provides well-qualified, multi-lingual professionals at several levels.
Low purchasing power
The average gross wages of the county's employees is about 96 per cent of the provincial and 78.3 per cent of the national average. The real value of earnings has fallen in the 1990s on account of consumer price increases and higher taxation. Both within the county and nationally, a process of impoverishment is visible.
There are wide differences in the average gross earnings of the various economic branches. Much like in the rest of the country, it is those in the area of finance that earn the most - their earnings are approximately 65% higher than the county average. The activities offering the lowest earnings are agriculture, building, hotel and catering, health and other personal services.
Since 1991 the earnings of white-collar workers have increased at a faster rate than those of blue-collar workers due to the increasingly greater recognition of the importance of higher qualifications. The gross wages of blue-collar workers in 2002 were 58 (80% net) of those of white-collar workers and the gross wages of males were 24% higher than those of females.
The annual average wage per full-time employee was rather low in Békés county (EUR 3 473 in 2001) compared to the regional (EUR 3 609) and the national average (EUR 4 540). Within the primary sector, this indicator was close to the national average. However, in the secondary and tertiary sector the annual average wage per full-time employee was respectively 23% and 24% lower in Békés compared to the country as a whole.
30% of the unemployed are under 25
In 2001, there were 8 600 people unemployed registered in the county. The rate of unemployment was 8.6%, around 3 percentage points over the national average, and the fifth highest in Hungary.
In June 2002 there were just over 6 700 people who were receiving unemployment benefits. Parallel with the decrease in the numbers receiving these benefits, the numbers receiving income supplements and social security payments of various sorts, and the numbers not receiving any benefits at all have increased.
Eighty-five per cent of the unemployed are seeking blue-collar employment and almost half of these are skilled. More than a quarter of those seeking white-collar jobs are looking for management positions. In 2002, males made up 56% of the unemployed, females 44%. The number of those out of work for more than six months is steadily increasing.
The proportion of the unemployed made up by those who are unskilled and have no more than eight years of formal education is relatively large (40%). The chances of these obtaining employment, as with the unskilled people who do have a secondary school education, are minimal. Thirty-five per cent of the unemployed have a skilled workers education, 20% have completed secondary school, and just 2% have tertiary qualifications.
20 per cent of the unemployed in 2002 were below 25 years old. When considering only women, this share becomes 44%. Furthermore, males unemployment rate was higher compared to that for women.
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