The employment rate among Hungarians with disabilities has reached 35%, nearly double the 18% rate in 2011, reports Hungary Today citing estimates from Trenkwalder. The staffing firm said the rate has been lifted by measures to help place people with disabilities in jobs as well as the labour shortage, but it is still well under the average rate for Europe which stands at approximately 50%. Employers who hire Hungarians with disabilities are exempt from the 17.5% tax on those staff, while companies at which people with disabilities don’t make up at least 5% of headcount must pay an annual HUF 1.3 million (€3,990) rehabilitation contribution for each employee short of that threshold. Approximately 80% of Hungarian companies with more than 250 staff employ people with disabilities.