The Working Poor in Hungary and Human Resource Policy in the Workplace

This research is based on a survey of 71 organizations. The research examines the major characteristics of the workplaces of low-income earners in terms of ownership, nationality, sector of economy, and size, and further examines the relationship between the level of wages and human resource policy practices in companies employing the working poor for the period 1990-1999. It identifies the growing national tendency for wages to fall below the poverty threshold, defined as less than 60% of national gross average earnings, and shows that the majority of the working poor are not segregated in sectors of the labor market characterized by an above average ratio of working poor. The paper concludes that investment in human resources, such as non-financial incentives, training opportunities, and welfare provisions, tend to reinforce rather than offset the negative impact of low wage levels