Finance Minister warns Hungary's pledged one-million-forint minimum wage may be unattainable
In his Thursday speech, Kármán highlighted that wages have been rising faster than productivity for years, limiting room to cut employer contributions further. He noted that the policy tools used previously, such as reducing employer levies and a weaker forint, have already been largely exhausted. Consequently, the promised one-million-forint minimum wage lacks viable financing. The Tisza Party’s Magyar Péter reiterated the pledge on social media, emphasizing the need for tax cuts and support for small firms.
At the Közgazdász-vándorgyűlés meeting, Finance Minister Kármán András warned that Hungary’s commitment to a one-million-forint minimum wage by 2027 is increasingly unrealistic. He explained that wage growth has consistently outpaced productivity, and earlier measures—cutting employer contributions from 27 % to 13 % and allowing the forint to depreciate—have already supported competitiveness. With a tight labour market and limited scope for further contribution reductions, the fiscal space to fund the promised increase has essentially vanished.
The Tisza Party’s Magyar Péter posted on September 8 that the government will work to achieve the target by the end of one outlet cycle, relying on tax relief and subsidies for micro, small and medium enterprises. However, the minister’s assessment suggests that delivering the pledge will be difficult without additional policy changes. The debate underscores the tension between electoral promises and economic constraints in Hungary.
