Efficiency and employment in Hungarian agriculture

Biró, Szabolcs – Rácz, Katalin

Keywords: agricultural employment, employment expansion, rural unemployment

Similar to international trends, the decline of the role of agriculture in employment can be also observed in Hungary,. The decline of labor-use was accelerated by social and economic changes as a result of the transition after the fall of socialism. In agricul-ture, the use of modern technologies, the simplification of production structure, spe-cialization and concentration, the higher income available in other spheres of national economy, as well as more favorable working conditions have led to an outfl ow of labor in the last decades. Nevertheless, one of the most fundamental sources of rural liveli-hood is still the agriculture, whose role concerning self-sufficiency, employment and income-generation can be strengthened by appropriately targeted measures in order to implement effective policy interventions responsive to existing development needs. In economic terms, sustainable jobs can be created by an employment policy, which is primarily based on the exploitation of market opportunities. Apart from this, the ex-pansion of eco-social activities also includes opportunities for job creation in agricul-ture.

Full article