Working in Romania
The unemployment rate in Romania was 6% in December 2025
Sorin Iordan, 05.02.2026, 13:40
New layoffs in the auto parts industry take place in Romania amid difficulties facing the European automotive sector. After the announced layoffs at the Leoni plant in Arad and at the branches of the German group Aumovio, several hundred more people will be made redundant by a company in Bistriţa-Năsăud that produces aluminum radiators for the automotive industry. RAAL, one of the largest employers in Bistriţa-Năsăud County, specialises in the production of complete cooling systems made of aluminum alloys and stainless steel. The company is going through a difficult period and has announced it will lay off 250 employees, out of a total of over 1,500. The financial problems are partly related to the decrease in orders in the foreign market. According to the County Employment Agency, workers in both production and maintenance departments, as well as administrative staff, will be affected. During the notice period, the employees who will lose their jobs will benefit from pre-dismissal services, such as information, counselling, labour mediation and access to professional training programs, with a view to a quick reintegration in the labour market.
The unemployment rate in Romania was 6% in December 2025, the same as in November, according to data from the National Statistics Institute. Of the nearly 494,000 people registered with the National Employment Agency, over two-thirds are in the 25-74 age bracket, with an unemployment rate of 4.6%, below the national average. In contrast, nearly 27% of young people under 24 are unemployed. In the capital city Bucharest, the unemployment rate stayed on a downward trend, reaching 0.47%.
Romania has seen a consistent increase in the number of physicians in recent years, despite the emigration of young practitioners to European Union countries, where they are better paid. This was the conclusion of a conference recently organised by the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences, which also discussed the shortage of doctors in rural communities. Although there are about 70,000 physicians in the country, plus almost 15,000 dentists, most of them choose to work in big cities, in public and private clinics. Cristi Şelaru, a consultant with the National Statistics Institute, said that since 1990 the number of employees in the system has almost doubled. He explained that this means a roughly 90% total increase and that Romania currently has about 1.9 times more doctors than it had immediately after the 1989 Revolution. Şelaru also said that, for the 35-year period under review, the increase means an average of approximately 1,000 more physicians per year, a significant rise in the medical workforce, despite persistent challenges.
Nearly 7% of the population of the Romanian capital consists of foreigners, according to data from the General Immigration Inspectorate. Last year, the authorities in Bucharest reviewed the immigration status of over 144,000 people, over 100,000 of whom were from countries such as Nepal, Turkey or Sri Lanka. Another 42,000 people came mostly from Italy, Sweden and France. The majority of people, over 60,000, have established their residence here for work purposes. The increase in the number of foreign citizens in Bucharest has been substantial, said the head of the City’s Immigration Directorate, Ionuţ Cârdei. He explained that the increase is almost 3 times compared to the past 5 years, and if this growth rate continues, in the next 5 years foreigners will account for 15% of the people residing in Bucharest. Cârdei also explained that last year the increase was almost 30%. In 2025, immigration police issued over 20,000 work permits for foreign citizens, but also over 1,500 sanctions for failure to comply with relevant legislation. (AMP)
