Hungary sees stark contrast in fresh graduate job prospects

More than 140,000 people applied for university or college programmes in Hungary this year. In the first half of 2026, the number of job openings advertised for fresh graduates fell 7.2% compared with the same period a year earlier, according to data from the job portal Profession.hu.

Competition for entry‑level positions varies sharply by sector. In marketing, media and public‑relations roles, an average of over 100 candidates vie for each vacancy, while administrative, assistant, customer‑service and legal posts see 70‑80 applicants per job. By contrast, engineering, health‑care, pharmaceutical and manufacturing positions attract only about 20 applicants each, indicating a persistent shortage of qualified staff in those fields.

Employers continue to recruit aggressively where skill gaps exist, creating a paradox of oversupply in some occupations and acute talent deficits in others within the same fresh‑graduate labour market.