1.2 million planning to work abroad?

A pro-government columnist has doubts about the figures released on the number of Hungarians contemplating emigration.

Magyar Idők’s János Csontos questions the veracity of the results of a survey conducted by the left-wing Publicus think tank which found that 12 per cent of Hungarians are planning to seek jobs abroad (over and above the hundreds of thousands already working in the West). Publicus found that 40 per cent of young adults are inclined to look for employment outside Hungary. Csontos is not sure what ’planning’ and ‘contemplating’ mean in the survey. He admits that the emigration of large segments of the workforce is a serious problem, but one that is a direct consequence of Hungary’s EU membership. He rejects allegations that those people ‘flee from the incumbent government’ and produces detailed figures on salaries in the West which are several times higher than what the same people would earn in Hungary. He remarks that as a result of Brexit, Hungarian workers’ emigration will slow down. At any rate, he adds, emigration ratios are way higher in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria than in Hungary.

Tags: emigration, labour