Working in Romania
The unemployment rate in Romania decreased by 0.06 percentage points in May compared to April
Sorin Iordan, 03.07.2025, 13:57
The unemployment rate in Romania decreased by 0.06 percentage points in May compared to April, reaching 3.19%, the National Employment Agency reported. During the mentioned period, almost 255,000 unemployed people were registered, of whom about 51,500 were receiving benefits. By area of residence, almost 66,000 unemployed people came from urban areas, and the rest from rural areas. Most people without a job were between 40 and 49 years old (a little over 65,000), followed by those over 55 years old (about 61,000). At the opposite end were those between 25 and 29 years old (about 14,500). Regarding the structure of unemployment by education level, unemployed people with secondary education had the largest share in total, 34.5%, followed by those with no education or primary education, almost 32 percent. People with higher education looking for a job represented only about 4.4% of the total. Regarding the situation in the capital Bucharest, the unemployment rate at the end of May continued to decrease and reached 0.61%, and the number of unemployed was 7,745.
The average net salary in Constanţa County, in southeastern Romania, recorded at the end of April, was 5,057 lei (about 996 euros), over 8% higher than in the same period last year, the County Statistics Department reported. The number of employees in the county, over 203,000 people, is about 2,700 higher compared to April 2024. Taking into account the inflation rate of the last 12 months, the average net salary is, in real terms, 3.2 percent higher in April 2025 compared to April 2024, the institution specifies. The unemployment rate in Constanţa County is 2%, lower than the national average of about 3.2 percent. At the end of April, over 5,600 unemployed people were registered, 824 fewer than in March, but approximately 900 more than in April 2024. Of the total unemployed, 54.5% were women, and 2,006 people were receiving unemployment benefits.
About half of the more than 12,000 companies in Sălaj County, in northwestern Romania, had no employees at the end of 2024, while 30% of the companies had one or two employees, according to data from the Territorial Labor Inspectorate. According to the cited source, at the end of 2024 the number of employers with active employment contracts in Sălaj was almost 6,400, with a total of active employees of about 50,000 and a number of active contracts of almost 52,500. Of the total number of employing companies, 1,763 represent individual enterprises, authorized individuals, and other professions exercised under special laws, 271 are companies with state capital, 15 with mixed capital, and the remaining over 10,500 are commercial companies with private capital. ITM Sălaj also shows that only 2% of the companies had more than 21 employees at the end of last year. Economist Alexandru Tamba, author of several specialized works and former president of the Sălaj branch of the Romanian Body of Certified Accountants and Certified Public Accountants, explained to Agerpres that it is normal to have many small companies, with one or two employees. He showed that these are family businesses, where the administrator is also the one who works, as in the case of a plumber, a small craftsman or an accountant, who do not need employees. On the other hand, Tamba indicated that, at the national level, the number of employees in small and medium-sized companies represents 75% of the total number of employees. According to him, the number of employees in small companies could increase if partial payment of contributions were to be returned to in the case of part-time contracts.
Over 175 foreign citizens who did not respect the legal regime of stay in Romania were detected in June by the forces of the General Inspectorate for Immigration. Last month, the police carried out 382 actions, controls and inspections, both with their own forces and in cooperation with other competent institutions. Of the total number of those identified in illegal situations, 22 were placed in public custody centers with a view to removal from the territory of the Romanian state. For the others, return decisions were issued or they were instructed to regulate their residence status, the Inspectorate reported.
