Romania’s unemployment rate falls to decades-low level

Romania’s unemployment rate (under ILO standard) declined in December 2018 to 3.8 percent, the lowest level in more than two decades, National Institute of Statistics (INS) revised data showed on Friday.

The level of 3.8 percent is the lowest since International Labour Organization (ILO) unemployment statistical data are available in Romania (1993).

INS said that the unemployment rate was 4 percent in October and 3.9 percent in November, but the series could be revised within the next months.

The number of unemployed persons aged 15-74 was 349,700 in December, compared with 357,587 in November 2018 and 418,744 in December 2017, according to official seasonally adjusted data.

The unemployment rate among men exceeds the rate among women by 1.3 percentage point, with 4.3 percent for men and 3 percent for women.

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The unemployment rate represents the share of unemployed in the active population.

More foreign workers

This week, 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.