Introduction of the program's location
Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County is situated in the north-eastern region of Hungary, and, in economic terms, is one of the most underdeveloped region of Hungary. In the early nineties, the closure of large industrial companies made a substantial number of employees redundant, and only few jobs were created instead. The proportion of Roma people far exceeds the national average (10.8%), nearly 20-25% of Hungary’s Roma population lives in this region1.
The closer target region of the project, that is, the micro-region of Encs has a typical structure made up of small villages. 36 of the region’s 55 settlements have a population of fewer than 500. The micro-region has a mixed economy: it is characterized by arable land, however, a majority of the population used to work in the industrial sector before the economic changes. A substantial part of agricultural cooperatives were dissolved, the land parcels formerly owned by the cooperative were privatized, so the jobs in the cooperatives were lost. The number of residents of the micro-region of Encs is a little over 36,000, and, in economic terms, the number of active workers is 8558, that is, 23% of the population are officially employed. (The average national index is 39%). The rate of unemployment tin the micro-region of Encs is 33.8%, and, according to the data provided by the employment centre, 80% of the registered unemployed people are permanently unemployed. 10.3% of the registered unemployed people have not completed the 8 elementary classes, and the highest level of education of 35.9% of them is the elementary school. This micro-region is one of those where people are the most undereducated: the local population completed an average of 7.8 school years, that is, are below the basic level of education. According to estimates, there are some 20,000 people, who are completely excluded from the labour market, that is, they have absolutely no contact with employment organizations and are not registered anywhere. Since there are few jobs available even for those, who have just left school and become active workers, the local Roma communities have a serious lack of motivation.
1 The statistical figures are based on the publications of KSH (Central Statistics Office - reports on years 2000 and 2001); Kertesi Gábor - Kézdi Gábor: The Roma population in Hungary (Bp., Socio-typo, 1998), the publications of the Employment Centre of BAZ County, as well as information provided by local Roma organizations.
