Layoffs in Hungary have reached nearly 19,000 since January this year, national daily Nepszava said on Tuesday. Budapest alone registered 1,090 jobs closed in the month of October, said the paper.
The financial crisis has driven several large companies, among them car-maker Suzuki, railways GYSEV, equipment and electronics-maker Videoton and General Electric, into staff cut plans.
The government has announced plans to save about 100,000 jobs and create another 20,000. It said it would also offer small and medium-sized firms low-interest loans of up to 1.4 trillion forints (EUR 5.34bn) starting January next year, the paper said.
The crisis will strike most severely in the construction, automobile, electronics, IT and equipment manufacturing, tourism, hotels and processing industries. The agriculture, the food industry and light manufacturing sectors are expected to be at less of a danger, the paper said.