Latest reports

Macro Monitor – February 2025

Macro Monitor – January 2025

Macro Monitor – December 2024

Macro Monitor – November 2024

According to the December 2024 survey of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató, household economic sentiment strengthened by 0.4 index points, and business economic expectations weakened by 0.2 index points from the previous month. Thus, the household index, measured on a scale of -100 to +100, improved to -16.0, while the business index weakened to -15.2. In the December survey, the most positive change in household sentiment was related to job stability. Businesses’ largest change was in their ability to enforce prices. Although a weaker capacity to raise prices has a negative impact on the business prosperity index through corporate profitability, it is positive for the economy as a whole because of contained inflation.

According to the November 2024 survey of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató, household economic sentiment strengthened by 2.1 index points, and business economic expectations improved by 0.5 index points from the previous month. Thus, the household index, measured on a scale of -100 to +100, strengthened to -16.5, while the business index to -14.9. In the November survey, the most positive change in household sentiment was towards the future path of inflation. And among businesses, the perception of Hungary’s future competitiveness has improved the most.

Macro Monitor – September 2024

According to the October 2024 survey of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató, household economic sentiment weakened by 1.8 index points, while business economic expectations improved by 0.7 index points from the previous month. Thus, the household index, measured on a scale of -100 to +100, dropped to -18.6, while the business index strengthened to -15.4. In the October survey, the most positive change in household sentiment was regarding the future of the Hungarian economy, while businesses showed a positive shift in their assessment of product price changes over the past year.

In September 2024, a flood wave unprecedented in almost a decade arrived in our region on the Danube, posing significant challenges for Hungary. In Budapest, the Danube peaked at 829 centimetres, but serious damage was avoided thanks to a nationwide effort involving a significant number of volunteers, as well as the authorities, soldiers and police. Századvég’s October public opinion survey mapped public views on flood protection.

Macro Monitor – August 2024

While the weight of the Hungarian digital economy in terms of value added (GVA) has stagnated at around 18% of the GVA in the national economy in recent years, its weight in employment has increased by more than a quarter since the previous survey. In total, the digital economy provided direct or indirect livelihoods for around 935,000 employees in 2022, representing 19.9% of the Hungarian workforce in that year. A technology-driven development path could provide a further powerful boost to the Hungarian digital economy, increasing its GVA generation capacity by nearly HUF 1,500 billion by 2030, which would put Hungary among the most technologically advanced countries in the European Union—finds the research conducted in cooperation between Századvég and IVSZ on behalf of the Ministry for National Economy in the summer of 2024.

Macro Monitor – July 2024

According to the August 2024 survey of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató, household economic sentiment deteriorated by 3.7 index points, while business economic expectations fell by 0.3 index points from the previous month. Thus, the household index, measured on a scale of -100 to +100, weakened to -18.3, while the business index to -15.6. The August survey showed that household sentiment changed most as regards the negative changes in Hungary’s economic situation over the next year. In August, the largest month-on-month change for companies was related to more moderate price changes for their products in the past.

According to the July 2024 survey of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató, household economic sentiment deteriorated by 2.7 index points, while business economic expectations fell by 3.0 index points from the previous month. Thus, the household index, measured on a scale of -100 to +100, weakened to -14.6, while the business index to -15.3. In the July survey, the main change in households’ perceptions was related to the change in unemployment in Hungary over the past year. In July, the biggest negative change for businesses in one month was related to the future outlook for the Hungarian economy.

Macro Monitor – June 2024

Brussels has called on EU Member States to phase out subsidies on utility rates immediately, even though their abolition would have serious social consequences. The energy crisis is not over, and countries that do not protect their populations from market prices are facing severe energy poverty, according to research by Századvég Europe Project.

Political messages in recent months clearly show that the defence industry is on the verge of a quantum leap, both across Europe and at EU level. As a first step in this process, on 5 March 2024, the European Commission, in a joint declaration with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, published the first European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS), which sets out the Commission's long-term vision for the management of defence industrial issues at EU level, the role of the EU institutions and the room for manoeuvre of the Member States up to 2035.