Romania’s unemployment rate consolidates close to 4 pct

Romania’s unemployment rate (under ILO standard) slightly declined in May to 3.9 percent, consolidating close to 4 percent during the last 10 months, National Institute of Statistics (INS) data show.

Unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, where the latter consists of the unemployed plus those in paid or self-employment.

The unemployment level registered in March – 3.9 percent, 347,202 jobless persons – was the lowest since International Labour Organization (ILO) unemployment statistical data are available in Romania (1993).

But the rate unexpectedly rose in April to 4 percent, as the number of unemployed people aged 15-74 increased to 353,855. In May, the number of unemplyed people declined to 350,850 but the rate seems to consolidate around 4 percent.

The unemployment rate among men exceeds the rate among women by 0.9 percentage point, with 4.3 percent for men and 3.4 percent for women.

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More foreign workers

This year, the Romanian government has adopted a decree that increases quotas for non-EU foreign workers in 2019 up to 20,000 work permits, an all-time high number, as there is higher demand from local companies claiming they are affected by the workforce crisis.

Employers claim it’s harder than ever to find new workers in Romania in sectors like construction works or shipbuilding and prefer to bring foreign workers.

Emigration and labour shortage in Romania put increasing pressure on employers to find skilled workers in order to expand their businesses.

The Labour Ministry claims that more than 60,000 jobs are available and the companies offering them never find workers.