Examining territorial inequalities in labour market processes in Hungary

Abstract

The aim of the study is to examine labour market processes at the county level in Hungary, focusing on regional inequality. The territorial differences between Hungarian regions are not only noticeable in terms of income levels, but also in terms of labour market processes. The most commonly used methodology in the literature for measuring territorial inequality, the convergence calculation, was applied. The results are used to classify regions into clusters. The focus of the research period is the 2008 global economic crisis, but for more precise results, the 19-year research period (2000–2019) can be divided into three time periods. The results of the study show that there is some co-movement between labour market and catching-up processes. Highlighting the labour market processes, the absorptive effect of Budapest appears in the periods studied.