Study: Dramatic drop in the number of young employees

The number of young employees has decreased dramatically in the last ten years, while adults are moving en masse from unemployment to inactivity, according to the study conducted by the National Syndicalist Block (BNS). Furthermore, 30 percent of the population has to deal with several shortages and over 42 percent of Romanians are at risk of poverty, writes Mediafax.

The document shows that the Labor Code adopted in 2011 and the Social Dialogue Law has severely influenced work relations and average salary levels. The two measures not only did not help improve labor market conditions, but they also led to worse work conditions and a drop in the average living standards.

“This is the Real Romania, beyond an unemployment rate of 7 percent and political statements about economic growth and improved living conditions. The truth behind this unemployment rate of 7 percent is that a huge segment of work-able people were removed from employment agency records and have migrated towards inactivity, where the unemployed indemnification doesn’t cut it and people that are apt for work live from other forms of social help or off the backs of other inhabitants of the household, where the contact between the labor market and Government doesn’t exist”, according to BNS president, Dumitru Costin.

According to BNS numbers, “the reform of work relations” did not manage to give the labor market momentum or lead to an increase in determined/part-time contracts, regardless if you compare the state of the industry to the rest of the EU or to Romania’s previous evolution.

“In 2013, under 2 percent of work contracts were signed for a determined period, compared to the European average of 14 percent. We can observe a small tendency for growth between 2011 and 2013, but not based on creating new jobs, but rather on transforming indefinite contracts in contract for a determined period. As for part-time contract, they are used for only 10 percent of cases, compared to the European average of 20 percent”, the study shows.

The reform’s effects can be seen in the rise in inactive population, lack of interest on behalf o inactive individuals to join the labor market.

“20 percent of young people with ages between 15 and 24 are in a state of inactivity, meaning they are not registered as unemployed, they get no assistance for joining the labor market and are not targeted by active policies. What is more concerning is that 94.3 percent of inactive young people would not take a job if it was offered to them. For 25 to 50 year-olds the situation is even worse, and the peak is 50-65 years, with 19 percent unemployed and 30 percent inactive in 2012”, says Costin.