Working in Romania
The latest from the Romanian labour market
Sorin Iordan, 29.05.2025, 12:19
The global construction market is facing major challenges, according to the annual global report published by the Canadian consulting company Colliers. In Romania, the research indicates a significant decline in this sector in 2024 compared to 2023. The main issues include the return of construction material prices to the record levels of 2022, but also the pressure generated by a budget deficit of almost 9% of the GDP, which calls into question the continuation of large projects financed from European funds. Added to this is the elimination of tax exemption for construction workers, which means higher wage costs. The construction sector also remains one of the poorly digitized sectors, which leads to less efficient work, lower quality buildings and higher costs. Another important problem is the lack of labor, and those already working in construction are not sufficiently trained. One of the causes is that Romanian construction companies invest very little in employee training, only 0.1% of the profit, compared to the 1% average in the European Union.
The Romanian economy is facing an alarming decrease in the capacity to absorb the workforce and an increase in the number of active people who have migrated to work in other countries, said economist and sociologist Ciprian Bădescu, a researcher at the Institute for Research on the Quality of Life of the Romanian Academy. According to him, from 2010 to 2023, the amounts sent to the country by Romanians working abroad increased 15.6 times, from 641 million euros to about 10 billion euros. Bădescu believes that although the amounts sent from Romania by foreign migrants working here increased from about 88 million euros in 2010 to 1.4 billion euros in 2023, the increase in the gap between incoming and outgoing remittances shows that the Romanian economy is facing an alarming decrease in the occupational attractiveness for the domestic and foreign workforce. Among the causes of the differentiation of the Romanian economy’s attractiveness index compared to other European economies, the researcher identified the gap in purchasing power, compensation power through social benefits and the level of taxation. Ciprian Bădescu also showed that during the period 2010-2023, Romania dropped to the last place on the attractiveness scale of Central and Eastern European economies.
Over 8,000 people found work at the General Job Exchange, organized by the National Employment Agency at the end of last week in 67 locations across the country and in Bucharest. Almost 1,900 employers made about 30,000 jobs available. The most sought-after were unskilled workers, security agents, drivers and couriers. The offer also included jobs for those with higher education, namely for engineers in various branches of activity, managers, economists, analysts, specialized referents and banking consultants. Most jobs were offered in the capital Bucharest, in Constanţa (south-east), Mehedinţi (south-west), Ilfov (south), Bihor, Cluj (north-west) and Tulcea (south-east). Among those who found work were also refugees from Ukraine. Approximately 140 jobs were available for them. The unemployment rate recorded by the Romanian authorities at the beginning of last month exceeded 3 percent.
Brasov County, in central Romania, rose to 6th place nationally in terms of average net salary in March, according to the County Statistics Directorate. With an increase of almost 10 percent compared to the previous month, the average net salary in the county reached 5,368 lei (1,060 euros). The ranking is led by Bucharest, with an average net salary of 7,599 lei (1,500 euros) followed by Cluj (northwest) and Timiş (west) counties, both with over 6,000 lei (almost 1,200 euros), Ilfov (south) and Sibiu (center). In Brasov County, where almost 206,000 employees are registered, the average net salary in industry and construction was 5,678 lei (a little over 1,100 euros), while in services and agriculture incomes were below average. The number of people employed in Braşov increased by almost 700 compared to February 2025 and by over 3,100 compared to March 2024. (MI)
