Seventh of Hungarian employees earn minimum wage

One in seven Hungarian employees earn the minimum wage, according to a survey by economic research institute GKI. Half are unskilled and earn 138,000 forints (EUR 442) a month before tax, while the rest are skilled and receive 181,000 forints. Business service providers such as logistics, infocommunications and legal firms pay 21 percent of their staff the minimum wage, while 18 percent retail staff do so. The rate is 11 percent at both manufacturing and construction companies. Firms with 11-20 people on the payroll pay 43 percent of their staff the minimum wage, while those with headcount of more than 250 pay just 7 percent the same. In a regional comparison, the highest rate of minimum-wage workers, one-third, is in the southern Great Plain region. The lowest rate, 5 percent, is in central Hungary.