Tamás Szemlér This has special importance in the case of transport infrastructure, but other segments(R&D, innovation infrastructure, broadband etc.), as well as the im­provement of the business environment and the intensification of competition are also important. Employment situation and measures As has already been mentioned, the Hungarian labour market is characterised by a relatively low level of employment(56.8% in 2004), coupled with a low rate of unemployment(6.1% in 2004, slightly over 7% in 2005). The main challenge for labour market policy is the high rate of inactivity in the working-age population. In particular, older age groups and men show a low employment rate. For highly skilled people, labour market prospects are similar or better, but for low-skilled people, these prospects are poorer than in other EU member states. There is a specific feature of the Hungarian labour market: the clear disad­vantage of the Roma population. Disadvantages, however, also hit disabled people. Last, but not least, regional inequalities regarding employment and unemployment figures are significant(with employment rates about 62% and unemployment rates under 5% in Central Hungary and Western Transdanubia, and employment rates about 50% and unemployment rates above 7% in the poorer southern and eastern regions; regarding smaller units, disparities are much more important). The NRP's prospects are based on the employment targets set in 2004. The data in Table 5 show clearly that regarding figures concerning employment- and unlike in the case of unemployment figures- Hungary is lagging behind the EU average. In recent years, there have been some slight positive changes regarding activity and employment, but even the mid-term targets are quite cautious. For 2010, the national objective for the employment rate is 63%, which is 6 percentage points more than the baseline(2003) data, but 4 percentage points less than the EU data in 2005, and 7 percentage points less than the EU objective set for 2010. Nevertheless, increasing activity and employment is a priority for the NRP, and the realisation of the mid-term plan figures would be a success. 126