Jobseekers find it harder to change jobs, companies are slower to make decisions

The picture is mixed when we asked companies how they felt the first quarter was for the labour market. It was a difficult start to the year, according to Fruzsina Bodor, head of Prohuman. The HR specialist sees the reason for this in the fact that decisions on wage increases were taken later than in previous years. "We have lost the traditionally lively interest in January, when jobseekers hit the market in droves in the New Year's spirit. Instead, both employers and workers have preferred to wait and see. The first real upturn came at the beginning of March, when there was a noticeable pick-up on both sides - and the end of the quarter saw a similar pace to previous years." His colleague Gábor Kádas adds that regional differences can also be observed, with new investment in Southern and Eastern Hungary leading to a significant increase in labour demand.

Gábor Kádas (Prohuman):Labour demand is growing in Southern and Eastern Hungary

Viktor Göltl also sees a recovery in the loan market. "The volume at WHC is almost two and a half times what it was last year," he noted. The retail, logistics and tourism sectors are clearly growing, while the automotive sector remains quiet, with some movement seen in new investment.

In contrast, Katalin De Cordt - Bor, managing director of Human Centrum, perceives that companies have become more cautious in their staff planning. "In the first quarter of 2025, we will see a slight decline and stagnation in the temporary agency sector, especially in manual jobs. At this time, the focus is on quality replacements, where firms are primarily looking to recruit existing agency workers who they trust and have good experience," he added.

Edit Farkas has a similar view. The head of Man at Work's placement business, based in Veszprém, said one of the biggest difficulties has been the slowdown in recruitment decisions. Even in cases where the right candidate is found, it often takes weeks for the client company to make a decision. But this is dangerous: good candidates today do not 'sit on their laurels' for long, and the consequence of a slow response is that we can easily miss out on professionals." While the number of their assignments has noticeably decreased, the proportion of positions that are a real challenge to fill has increased, because of the narrow pool of candidates, the employer's professional expectations are very high, while the conditions they offer are often not even close to what the market expects.

On the recruitment line, Bulcsú Baradits (Man at Work) finds that although staffing freezes continue to be a feature of many companies, turnover - especially among Hungarian and Ukrainian workers - is not decreasing. While in the past, companies have tried to manage staff replacement from internal resources, this trend has reversed in early 2025, with more and more companies turning to temporary employment agencies to replace their staff more quickly.

Recruiting from third countries is on the rise

And speaking of Ukrainian guest workers, there's no getting around the recent upsurge in recruitment from third countries, which has been an important foothold in the HR services market. Qualified recruitment agencies have built up their recruitment capacities in the Far East - mainly in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. Experts from Prohuman and Man at Work said that overseas recruitment has been significantly affected by regulatory tightening. Currently, only three countries - the Philippines, Georgia and Armenia - are allowed to hire guest workers. Gábor Kádas noted that there has been a noticeable shift in recruitment practices towards hiring Filipino workers, which companies were already open to. Bulcsú Baradits (Man at Work) added that although they are more expensive at first glance, in the long run they are a more reliable and stable workforce.

The WHC said that the lead time for recruitment from third countries has not changed significantly, with 2.5-3.5 months from receipt of a client request to the day of employment.

Easy and difficult assignments

Who are particularly hard to find in the job market today? Fruzsina Bodor (Prohuman) revealed that among intellectual jobs, it is particularly difficult to find engineers - especially electrical engineers - and highly qualified finance professionals, while demand for IT specialists is also constantly at a high level. Business service centres are expanding, so finding multilingual candidates in the country remains a challenge. Katalin de Cordt - Bor also cited the challenges of recruiting chemical, mechanical or mechatronic engineers, who are typically harder to move. Equally difficult to fill are positions in automation, electrical engineering, maintenance or quality assurance engineering, where there is a constant demand for specialised knowledge and experience. "We see a similar difficulty for technicians with a secondary education, particularly for mechanical and chemical engineering jobs."

Viktor Göltl said that in physical positions, the hardest job is still finding skilled workers, especially in shortage occupations: welders, high-current electricians, traditional cnc operators, machinists, locksmiths. WHC's CEO said that the easiest to find are entry-level intellectual occupations and less complex jobs. And in the physical line, it is easier to secure replacements for skilled-type positions - for example, assembly workers, operators, machine operators, packers, quality inspectors and cleaners.

Human Centrum's managing director adds that in the manufacturing sector, there is a significant increase in the number of applicants for lower-skilled jobs, such as unskilled jobs, with up to 50% more applicants than before.

What can be done to attract or retain candidates?

Viktor Göltl (WHC):Wage can be a winning benefit if the basic wage is competitive

Several recruiters said that candidates have become more cautious and are finding it harder to make the switch, which can be explained by the worsening economic situation. Gábor Kádas said that this has also led to a decrease in turnover for both skilled and unskilled jobs. However, if their workplace does not have an inflation-linked wage increase, they quickly start looking around the job market.

Viktor Göltl noted that anything can be a winning element in retaining/attracting candidates "if the base wage itself is right". After all, extra perks are worth little if the base salary is not competitive. And it helps retention if the colleague is treated as a human being in the company. "If that's not the case, no matter how many pizza days or extra cinema coupons you have, in the long run, people will not stay with the company," adds the HR professional.

The attraction is also enhanced by favourable working hours. "If it is possible to work one or two shifts, candidates will not choose three shifts, especially those with families or older age groups. Also, the reputation of the company is important, as is the working environment - for example, no particularly low/high temperatures in the plant, no harmful substances.

"Providing a company bus service has become a priority, especially if the workplace is far from where they live. Another important aspect is the provision of accommodation and hot meals," adds Katalin De Cordt - Bor.

How to win over white collar workers? These are the answers we got from the professionals we interviewed: career opportunities, home office, flexible working hours, health screening packages, modern working environment.

Horváth Ágnes (WHC):An electrical engineer wouldn't change jobs for 50 000 forints more

Agnes Horváth (WHC) noted that the demands of candidates for intellectual positions are much wider than, for example, 5 years ago. Benefits have become a standard expectation that were previously absolutely in the extra category. For example, a home office.

The economic situation is tending to push up candidate salary demands. At the same time, stability is important: professionals are reluctant and reluctant to change jobs if they are sufficiently valued in their current position. "As a service provider, we don't currently have the feeling that everyone is looking for the best at all costs. A good electrical engineer, for example, would not move to another company for a salary that is only 50,000 HUF higher than his or her current one if he or she is otherwise valued," says Ágnes Horváth.

Edit Farkas of Man at Work pointed out that there is still a significant pool of passive job seekers - those who can be mobilised by targeted approaches, subtle "persuasion" and a really good offer, but if there is no strong pressure to move in their existing position, these potential candidates will have unrealistic salary expectations. It is also clear that salary is not the only thing that matters. The work environment is at least as important, but in their experience, the flexibility and attitude of the employer is key for employees, particularly in terms of their preference for, or willingness to allow, flexible working hours and the possibility of working from home or hybrid.

The counter offer phenomenon is spreading

Fruzsina Bodor (Prohuman) highlights an interesting phenomenon. Based on the experience of the first quarter of this year, the so-called counter offer phenomenon has become more frequent. Many candidates reach the point of accepting a job offer, but then decide to stay because of a counter-offer (in practice a higher salary) from their current employer. "This trend is understandable: with economic uncertainty and a hiring freeze in place in many places, companies are increasingly looking to retain existing employees as they may not be able to replace a departing colleague. This also poses a challenge for recruitment agencies, whose aim is to place candidates with their partners who have a real chance of a successful agreement. The proliferation of counter offers makes this process much more difficult," explains Fruzsina Bodor.

Fruzsina Bodor (Prohuman): Counter offer published, companies retain professionals who apply elsewhere

Katalin de Cordt - Bor said that one of the biggest challenges in the coming period will be the pay parity regulation for companies with more than 150 employees, which will be introduced from 2026. Human Centrum wants to support its corporate partners in the development of a transparent and competitive system. A particular focus will also be on targeting the over 55s and retirees in response to demographic challenges and the increasing shortage of professionals.

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