Labor market changes in 2024: More Romanians changing jobs, AI essential in recruitment, salary transparency pressures companies

The year 2023 brought new records in the labor market regarding candidates’ desire to access new professional opportunities. Over 12.5 million applications were registered on the online recruitment platform bestjobs last year, 45% more than in 2022. The number of newly registered candidates on the platform also exceeded expectations, with almost 700,000 new CVs added in the last year on bestjobs.

“The economic context of 2023 has massively mobilized candidates, seeking better-paid opportunities that allow them to have a comfortable living. This trend will continue in 2024, and companies will be increasingly selective in recruitment, against the need for specialists and within the available budgets. Candidates with specific job skills and experience will gain, which is why developing skills should be a constant priority for them,” says Ana Vișian, Marketing Manager at bestjobs.

Last year, industries such as Engineering, IT&C, and Construction faced a shortage of specialists, and companies had to find solutions, either through internal training of employees or by increasing recruitment budgets. Thus, attracting candidates with specific job skills seems to be a priority for companies in 2024, as explained by bestjobs specialists.

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On the candidates’ side, flexibility in schedule and work mode has become increasingly important in the last year. Thus, 6 out of 10 employees stated in a recent bestjobs survey that this is an essential criterion in choosing a new job. In the same direction, bestjobs specialists note a greater interest from candidates in taking an additional job, part-time or project-based, to supplement their income.

Artificial Intelligence increasingly penetrates the HR universe

In 2024, it is also expected that Artificial Intelligence will occupy an increasingly important place in the labor market. Bestjobs data shows that automating recruitment processes and creating intelligent tools will be a valuable support for both employees and employers, facilitating the finding of necessary personnel in a short time, with minimal expenses.

“In the new year, our mission at bestjobs is to simplify and make the recruitment process more efficient, maintaining the same prices, to continue supporting our partners to navigate this challenging period. We continue to bring innovation in the field of recruitment, investing and developing services that meet market needs, such as bestjobs LIVE, a unique service in which we believe very much and which brings a more human face to the recruitment process, facilitating a faster team match,” added Ana Vișian.

Salary offer transparency, increasingly popular among employers If at the end of 2022, about 22% of job ads published on bestjobs mentioned the salary or a salary range, in 2023, this percentage approached 40%.

“This is significant progress for the labor market in Romania, which is quickly aligning with the European Union’s Salary Transparency Directive,” adds Ana Vișian.

This will be transposed into national legislation by June 7, 2026, obliging employers to ensure salary transparency both before and after hiring. In this regard, employers need to adopt necessary measures to align with the provisions.

Download the bestjobs report on the evolution of jobs in 2023 and the trends that will dominate the recruitment market in 2024.