In Hungary, there are no signs that a Hungarian bank or the parent of a bank operating in Hungary will suffer significant direct losses in the near future. OTP Bank Nyrt., a former banking monopoly under communism, is the biggest lender in Hungary. The other two rival banks include Erste Group Bank AG and Raiffeisen International Bank- Holding AG. They are both Vienna-based.

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany proposed to freeze real wages until the middle of next year due to risks posed by the global financial crisis. Indeed, the deep cuts in the deficit since 2006 reduced Hungary’s vulnerability to the global crisis and the banking system was strong, but further measures were needed to fend off the financial and real economic impacts of the crisis.

The way to prevent an unemployment wave is to keep the wage costs of firms as low as possible now. Many would be extremely interested to figure out which are the sectors that are the most recession proof. These namely the health care, education, energy, environmental, security and international business, are the most recession proof. Health services occupations including medical assistants, home health aides, physical therapists and medical records technicians account for close to half of the 30 fastest growing occupations. For education, teaching is generally immune to a shaky economy, particularly if it is in an area with a high growth rate. For energy, anything related to alternative fuel sources, oil and gas and other energy sources will likely flourish in coming years. For example, if the “Solo,” developed by Hungarian company Antro is able to pace up their production instead of 2012.

Banks are not affected, but the car industry is the first to get a hit. General Motors (GM) in Hungary has stopped its car production. One other car parts production company has also stopped their production and their employees in the entire department were retrenched.

As for environmental, someone with “green” skills in sustainability and other environmental issues, will be in demand. Or security, police officers, international security experts and others who fight crime will still be in need even if the economy turns bad. Finally, international business, like those working in another country, or simply being an expert about another culture or language, will work to an advantage during a recession.

Read more about Solo at ‘Me and My Crazy Mind’