The article examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality rates in Europe and explored the spatial and temporal disparities that emerged in the first two years. The analysis highlights that while the initial wave of the pandemic had a more severe impact on major urban centres in Western Europe, subsequent waves have disproportionately affected the less developed regions of Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary.

The article is available here. Articles and analyses on COVID-19 by our colleagues are available on our website (in Hungarian).

With the support of its international partners, HETFA Research Institute examined the situation of women entrepreneurs both in Hungary and internationally in the light of new realities imposed by COVID-19. The research conducted in the summer of 2020 was based on an online questionnaire and personal interviews, with the main focus on examining the new life situation of women entrepreneurs and international comparisons of experiences, including difficulties and successful coping strategies. The research included at the national level in Austria, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Germany; and at regional level, Transylvania and Andalusia.

The research report (in English) is available here.

The results of the research showed that the businesses run by women were affected particularly adversely by the coronavirus crisis, because women entrepreneurs had to deal with the harmful economic consequences of the crisis and the increase of family and old-age care responsibilities within the family. Even before the crisis, women entrepreneurs often had difficulty reconciling work and private life responsibilities, a situation that could have worsened due to closures, the introduction of distance learning and the increase in caring responsibilities.

Women-led businesses are also more vulnerable due to their size, many of them self-employed, some of whom are forced entrepreneurs. In addition, a significant proportion of women businesses are active in sectors that have been severely affected by restrictions imposed, such as tourism or personal services. For many women entrepreneurs, a decline in business income also threatens their own and their families’ livelihoods.

Research leads: Luca Koltai, Réka Geambaşu

Contributors: Zsuzsanna Bakacsi-Saffer, Andrea Barna-Petróczi, Virág Zsár

International partners involved to whom we are grateful for their support:

• University of Economics, Prague (CZ)
• Faculty of Sociology and Social Work in Babes-Bolyai University in Kolozsvár/Cluj Napoca (RO)
• Regional Agency for Entrepreneurship and Innovations, Varna (BG)
• Institute „Mihajlo Pupin“ – Science & Technology Policy Research Center (SRB)
• Andalucía Emprende in Andalusia (ES)
• ZSI – Centre for Social Innovation (AT)

HETFA experts use a variety of data collected from about 200 NUTS3 (county level) regions in 10 countries to explore the spatial patterns of the spread of the epidemic, present the most affected areas and analyse the underlying causes. In the analyses, a special attention is paid to areas of the Carpathian Basin inhabited by Hungarians.

Following our first update on the weekly reports, now we share the most recent findings of our analyses:

The number of infected people is growing at an unprecedented rate in Hungary and throughout Central and Eastern Europe: 65,000 new cases were registered in the region last week (week of 28 September), bringing the number of confirmed cases to almost half a million. Despite comparisons between countries and regions are hampered by differing registration protocols and testing capacities (several countries in the region have serious problems in this area), the main territorial trends are still visible. In Romania and Ukraine, the epidemic has been spreading almost uncontrollably for months, while the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia have recently erupted, while other countries in the region (Poland, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia) are also on the rise. The capitals are affected the most: Prague, Bucharest, Vienna, Budapest, Ljubljana or Bratislava are all one of the most infected regions in their countries. Concerning the areas inhabited by Hungarians, Transcarpathia and Southern Transylvania are in the worst situation. Overall, the area’s infestation is increasing greatly during the current period, and the second wave is already much more severe than the first was.

The current situation at a glance

]]> https://hetfa.eu/2020/09/employment-on-roller-coaster-in-hungary-analysis-of-current-trends-by-hetfa/ Wed, 02 Sep 2020 10:22:41 +0000 https://hetfa.eu/?p=7930 Continuing our series of analyses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary, HETFA colleagues now put the dramatically changing trends of labour market under the spotlight. The experts of the HETFA Research Institute examined the territorial and sectoral patterns of employment change on the basis of the company headcount data submitted to the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary (NAV) in the recent months. The analysis focused on the districts (járások) of Hungary, based on the reformed public administration system introduced in 2013.

Below you can read a short summary of the main conclusions and you can access the full-length analysis in Hungarian here.

Although the expansion of domestic employment finally restarted in June after the spring relapse due to the epidemic, there are big differences between the individual sectors and regions in terms of how widely and how fast the recovery started. In more developed areas and resort areas, staff reductions and then recovery were faster than in less developed districts. The areas most exposed to tourism experienced very severe employment surges in the first half of the year.

Statistics show that there were at least 212,000 jobs lost between February and May this year, most probably due to the employment consequences of the coronavirus. The vast majority of lost jobs were lost in enterprises, the number of employees in the public sector decreased by almost 4,000, in non-profit organizations by 3,000, while the number of public employees (= people having sought for temporary jobs after long unemployed status) fell by 8,000 between February and May.

Changes in the number of employees in sectors of the national economy, compared to February 2020 (edited by HETFA)

Source: Céginformáció Ltd. and NAV data

At the beginning of 2020, a strong economic growth (3-4%) was predicted by various forecasts, that could have resulted in a rise of the employment rate with a good few tens of thousands people,  employed in May  in a COVID-free period, compared to the previous year. The fact that 242,000 less people will be employed in 2020 than in May last year, still underestimates the decline in employment experienced due to the epidemic.

As a conclusion the analysis states that the shifts in the employment rate show similar patterns during the epidemic regardless the sector, size and area: those who reacted the fastest with downsizing the workforce start to recover already by June, while those who started cut backs slower will join the job creation turn only later. For the time being, employment processes reflect the course of the 2007 crisis, but in an accelerated form, highlighting the prominent role of tourism in recession, where the decline and subsequent recovery of the sector could put the areas involved in domestic tourism on a roller coaster. As employment growth, which started in the summer, seems to be supported by strong seasonal conditions (e.g. tourism, summer agricultural work), the labour market of Hungary cannot breathe a sigh of relief yet, as autumn can bring about some difficult months, especially if new restrictions may be introduced due to the second wave of the epidemic.

The analysis was prepared by Gábor Balás, Luca Koltai, Hajnalka Lőcsei and Tamás Szabó (HETFA Research Institute)

Commissioned by on the State Secretariat for National Policy of the Prime Minister’s Office, HETFA Research Institute has been preparing an epidemiological report for Central and Eastern Europe on a weekly basis since the beginning of April. HETFA experts used a variety of data collected from about 200 NUTS3 (county level) regions in 10 countries to explore the spatial pattern of the spread of the epidemic, present the most affected areas and analyse the underlying causes. In the analyses, a special attention was paid to areas of the Carpathian Basin inhabited by Hungarians.

During the studied period, a migration of epidemic hotspots was observed. While in March and early April the Austrian provinces (mainly Tyrol) had the highest infection, over time the Suceava County in Romania, the south-eastern part of Serbia, and then Upper Silesia in Poland became the hotspots of the epidemic in Central and Eastern Europe. In the initial phase of the spread of the epidemic, large cities as well had above-average values, but over time, the difference has significantly decreased. In the Carpathian Basin, the southern parts of Transylvania and Transcarpathia were the most affected by the epidemic.

There are various reasons for the spread of the epidemic: while winter tourism in the Alps was among the factors responsible for to the outbreak, returning guest workers and air travel contributed as well to the spread of the epidemic. In many cases, the highest number of fatal illnesses was linked to hospitals and nursing homes, therefore the infection of an entire institution could have significantly affected the values ​​of certain areas.