Access to Employment for Ukrainian Refugees in Hungary: Key insights from the Smart UA research
19 April 2026
Within the framework of the SMART UA project, two national research strands were developed to examine access to housing for Ukrainian refugees in Hungary, focusing on both institutional responses and refugees’ lived experiences in the housing market.
The mapping highlights that most organisations provide various employment services, including job counselling, CV support, language training, and mentoring. Effective labour market integration depends on cooperation between civil society, church, and state actors, but this collaboration lacks structural coordination.
The research further highlights systemic issues such as childcare and healthcare-related barriers, discrimination, low education levels, and reliance on informal work.
The needs assessment complements the institutional mapping analysis by showing that labour market integration is not limited by a lack of motivation, but by structural challenges such as language barriers, non-recognition of qualifications, and transportation difficulties.
Highly educated refugees are often less employed than those with lower levels of education, as their qualifications are harder to recognise, leading to downward mobility. Employment opportunities are concentrated in a few sectors with lower entry requirements, and many refugees work part-time or in insecure jobs. Legal status, age, and social background further influence employment outcomes, with older individuals and those under temporary protection facing greater challenges.
Together, the results emphasise that labour market integration among Ukrainian refugees in Hungary is not an individual challenge, but an institutional and infrastructural one. The research underlines the need for predictable, coordinated, and long-term housing support mechanisms, supported by stronger institutional cooperation and policy-level interventions.
By generating robust evidence and highlighting both challenges and good practices, these reports contribute to the overall goals of SMART UA, supporting the development of more effective and sustainable labour market integration responses for Ukrainian refugees in Romania.
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Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Social Fund Agency. Neither the European Union nor the Granting Authority can be held responsible for them.
