17.04.202606:49:10UTC+00Hungary Gross Wage Growth Slows in February

Hungary’s gross average wages rose 9.7% year-on-year to HUF 725,500 in February 2026, a sharp slowdown from the nearly four-year high of 26.3% recorded in January. The earlier surge had been significantly inflated by a one-off payment of service allowances (the so-called “gun money”) to national defense and law enforcement personnel. Wage growth in the public sector decelerated markedly, increasing 13.4% after a 99% jump in January, while earnings in both the non-profit (10.3% vs 9.4%) and private sectors (8.6% vs 7.8%) accelerated. Excluding one-off payments and bonuses, February wages were 10% higher than a year earlier, at HUF 691,300. Over the first two months of the year, average gross wages rose 18% year-on-year to HUF 783,000.