Last year 25,000 foreigners outside of EU countries received working permits in Hungary, an increase of 10,000 from 2017, to ease the dire labour shortage, the pro-government daily Magyar Idok reported on May 16, citing immigration office data.

However, their numbers could be much higher as work permits are no longer required for workers from neighbouring countries in professions suffering labour shortages. These include nurses, drivers, skilled construction workers, telecommunications engineers, and software developers.

According to the European Commission, nine out ten industrial companies said the scarcity of workers constituted a limitation for production in the first quarter, the highest such ratio in the EU.

Hungary opened a quota for non-EU members in 2017 to ease the access of migrant workers from third countries. Workers from Serbia, Ukraine, and non-EU countries do not require a work permit for a 90-day stay. After that, they need to apply for a temporary residence permit.

There is no survey on which sectors employ the most non-EU employees, but industry representatives say most come from Ukraine and work in industry and construction.

Some 20% of these workers use Hungary as a springboard for moving into Western Europe, where wages are higher. Companies are trying to prevent this by providing extra benefits and stipulating clauses in their contracts to make them stay. Meanwhile, local workers resent them because of the extra benefits they receive, labour union leaders said.

The head of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said Hungary could absorb some 200,000-300,000 guest workers to ease the labour shortage in the long run. This is more than the number of unemployed in Hungary, which fell below 4%, or 178,000, seen by many economists as close to full-employment.

Although there are roughly 500,000 inactive workers that companies could still draw on, the majority lack skills and mobility, which excludes them from entering the primary job market.

According to estimates, 30,000-40,000 ethnic Hungarians from Ukraine commute to work in Hungary, but there are no separate statistics on this because most of them have taken Hungarian citizenship.