Hungary is shrinking because of a one-two punch of (1) birth rates falling in the 1990s during the economic transition and staying there, despite generous incen

Hungary is shrinking because of a one-two punch of (1) birth rates falling in the 1990s during the economic transition and staying there, despite generous incentives in recent Orban governments to encourage its rise, and (2) people of prime working age moving to Western and Southwestern Europe to for better economic opportunities. This is despite the fact that in 2010 the Orban government instituted a countrywide public works scheme that greatly reduced unemployment and made life in rural areas slightly more bearable, if more reliant on the populist regime. Hungary is in need of skilled employment in areas like construction, hospitality, trades, IT, and administration, but cannot attract or train enough workers and retain them domestically with the levels of pay employers are willing and able to pay. Such skilled workers can simply relocate elsewhere in Europe and increase their take-home pay. Hungary is the closest point to cross into the land-contiguous portion of the Schengen area from the southeastern migration route into the EU, so you can easily catch a train to an attractive destination like Germany. Despite the narrative of the Orban government, few of these incoming migrants want to stay in Hungary. The government could incentivize them to stay, if it wanted, but for racial and religious reasons, it doesn't. This leaves the state in a difficult situation. In the early years of foreign investment, it was attractive because its highly educated workforce and labor costs lower than Western Europe. But now it's subject to skill drain and brain drain and its value proposition has been reduced.