A Portfolio’s survey of nearly 450 companies shows that a majority of firms in Győr-Moson-Sopron would consider lack of labour the main obstacle if orders increased by 20% overnight. The anonymous, non-representative study — completed by 439 respondents between 31 August and 14 September 2026 — found that 64.8% of respondents in the county identified insufficient suitable workers as the biggest problem in such a scenario.
That share is considerably higher than in Budapest (45.5%) and Pest county (30.3%); the Central Transdanubia region also reported a strong concern, with 56.9% choosing this option. The results indicate that labour availability may constrain growth across several regions, with significant local differences.
Not only headcount: skills are also scarce
Companies highlighted not only the lack of available personnel but also shortages in the right skill sets. In Győr-Moson-Sopron, 22.7% of firms named workforce qualification and expertise as one of their principal competitive weaknesses; in Budapest and Central Transdanubia the figure was around 17%.
Official data underline why the issue is particularly sensitive locally. According to the Central Statistical Office (KSH), the unemployment rate in Győr-Moson-Sopron was just 2.0% in Q2 2026 (2.3% for the whole West Transdanubia region), compared with 4.5% nationally. In 2025 the county had 3,207 registered vacant positions, an incidence of 2.2%.
Thus, the KSH data suggest that the region does not have a large pool of idle labour to draw from; the difficulty stems from a narrowly mobilisable labour supply rather than from exceptionally many open vacancies.
No dramatic industrial boom, yet strong labour constraints
The fear of labour shortages is not simply explained by an industrial surge: KSH figures show industrial output in Győr-Moson-Sopron rose 1.9% in the first half of 2026 year-on-year, and 1.1% in West Transdanubia. Regional performance varied, and there is no pronounced local boom that would alone justify the business concerns. That makes it notable that firms already perceive a strong labour constraint in this moderate-growth environment.
Roxána Pásztor, Portfolio’s sustainability project lead, said the survey’s key lesson is that labour shortages can become a growth limit even outside a strong upswing: “In a stronger demand period, availability of suitable workers can quickly become one of the principal constraints on expansion.”
Productivity and efficiency are priorities across regions
Improving productivity is a top priority for company leaders in nearly every region. About 20–25% of respondents in Budapest, Central Transdanubia, Southern Transdanubia and Northern Hungary listed it among their main concerns, and the figure was even higher in the Southern Great Plain. In Győr-Moson-Sopron, 23.9% of respondents cited productivity improvement as the issue most occupying management.
This focus links closely to labour shortages: when hiring is difficult, firms must find ways to fulfil more orders with the same or only slowly expanding headcount.
Investment did not stop; its aims shifted
Survey responses do not indicate a blanket halt to investments but rather a shift in their objectives. In Győr-Moson-Sopron the largest share of companies plan efficiency-enhancing investments (28.4%), and another 13.6% focus on projects with fast payback. Only 15.9% reported having development plans but holding off due to uncertainty.
In Budapest, a relatively larger share (about 30%) said they were waiting, while in Central Transdanubia an even stronger efficiency focus emerged — nearly one-third of companies there named efficiency-improving investments as their primary direction.
Companies are more selective: projects that lower operating costs, free capacity or quickly boost productivity get priority.
AI used as a practical efficiency tool
Responses on artificial intelligence point in the same direction: firms mainly see AI as a tool for concrete operational problems. In Győr-Moson-Sopron, 46.6% of companies plan to use AI to automate administrative tasks in the next one to two years, 35.2% see opportunities in data analysis and managerial decision support, and 31.8% would apply AI to production or operations optimisation. Central Transdanubia shows a similar pattern; in Budapest data analysis, marketing and content creation appear slightly more prominent.
Overall, AI is thought of primarily as an efficiency-enhancing instrument, fitting the reality that many firms aim to grow by better organisation, automation and data-driven decisions rather than by hiring more staff.
Lack of clear competitive advantage increases the premium on efficiency
In Győr-Moson-Sopron, 34.1% of respondents said they did not perceive a significant competitive advantage for their company versus rivals; similar roughly one-in-three shares were reported in Budapest and Central Transdanubia. For many firms there is not a single standout strength, which raises the value of measures that improve productivity, cut costs or use existing capacity more effectively.
The survey does not portray a sector bracing for crisis; rather it shows firms seeking ways to squeeze more performance from resources that are hard to expand. In Győr-Moson-Sopron this search takes place against an especially tight labour market; if demand accelerates materially, the availability of suitable workers may become the principal barrier to growth in some industrial regions.
Further information
The Portfolio will present the research results and discuss the region’s growth and labour market challenges at the Nyugat-magyarországi Economic Forum on 15 October 2026.
The Portfolio survey was anonymous and non-representative, conducted between 31 August and 14 September 2026 with 439 respondents.
