The reduction of workers employed in the public sector would enhance the country’s competitiveness, János Lázár stressed, who takes the view that the number of people working in the public sector is extremely high today.
The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office reiterated at the event of the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce held in Budapest on Thursday: almost one million out of the 4.3 million Hungarian workers are employed in the public sector, and approximately 300,000 people work for state-owned companies.
He highlighted: despite the fact that the finances of the State are in order, the competitiveness of the country and the State has not improved in recent years, partly for structural reasons. It is necessary to improve the competitiveness of the economy, of the Hungarian State and even of society, he added. The improvement of competitiveness and the maintenance of economic growth will be the two most important tasks of the next few years, Mr Lázár said.
Employment plays a key role in this. The percentage of people in employment has increased significantly since 2010. From just 54 per cent in 2010, the percentage of people aged between 15 and 64 years who are in employment has risen to 65 per cent by now, Mr Lázár pointed out.
At the beginning of his speech, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office relayed the greetings of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to the executives of the member companies of the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. He highlighted: Hungary has always looked upon the Germans and the German investors active in Hungary as friends. There is no other country outside Hungary where people are so keenly interested in the latest political and economic situation in Hungary.
The Minister said that the State has been consolidated in Hungary in the last few years, and the budget is in a state of balance. However, the competitiveness of the State must be improved, and we should increasingly implement the idea of the service provider state, the concept of central service provider institutions. To achieve this, we need a change of paradigm in public administration and in the field of public services, the Minister pointed out, adding: we must achieve the genuine measuring of performance in public administration which is not yet something that is taken for granted in the state sector, in contrast to the competitive sector. The reform of the system of support institutions in the public sector, too, will result in the improved quality of services, he added.
Mr Lázár highlighted: the ever wider future spread of digitisation in the public sector will significantly improve the quality of services, and will greatly contribute to the streamlining of the state sector. The number of those working in the public sector should be reduced by some 300,000 in the next few years. He pointed out: we need to start thinking about the improvement of competitiveness already at this point in time because we have no way of knowing how much money will be available in EU funds beyond 2020, after the closing of the current EU fiscal cycle, and in what form, Mr Lázár indicated. The concept that the Hungarian Government wishes to channel 60 per cent of EU funds to the economy and the promotion of small and medium-sized businesses also seeks to reinforce competitiveness, he reiterated.
Mr Lázár further mentioned that we must also improve the country’s demographic processes because, based on local statistics, some 130,000 people die annually, and by contrast, only 90,000 children are born. The Minister said: on this score, we have a dispute with the leading Western States as they seek to resolve the problem with their immigration policy, while Hungary attempts to find a solution by encouraging families to raise children.