Working in Romania
At the end of last year, Romania had more than half a million unemployed people, nearly 50,000 more than the figure recorded in 2024.
Sorin Iordan, 07.05.2026, 11:45
Last week, the Romanian government adopted a bill prohibiting a person to receive simultaneously a pension and a salary from the state. The bill establishes new rules for civil servants and public sector employees who are already retired but continue to work. Essentially, it establishes the conditions under which a person may receive both a pension and a salary at the same time. The measure primarily concerns special, non-contributory pensions, rather than regular pensions. Over 15,000 people currently combine special, military, or service pensions with government salaries. The document also introduces restrictions on the secondment or transfer of public sector employees from one institution to another. The Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan explained that the law aims, first and foremost, to ensure fairness in the area of compensation. He said that he had asked Parliament to adopt the text under emergency procedure. For his part, the interim Labor Minister Dragoş Pîslaru stated that the non-contributory special pension will be reduced by 85% for retirees who wish to remain in the workforce and emphasized that the bill regarding the combination of special pensions with salaries applies only to the public sector. However, pensioners working in education and healthcare are exempt from the new provisions.
At the end of last year, Romania had more than half a million unemployed people, nearly 50,000 more than the figure recorded in 2024. Another 200,000 people were classified by the National Institute of Statistics as part of the additional potential labor force, consisting primarily of people available to start working but who were not actively looking for a job. Economic analyst Constantin Rudniţchi believes that some of the unemployed commute between Romania and other European countries or work in those countries for extended periods but are still listed in Romanian statistics as unemployed. As for those who are not interested in working, Rudniţchi also noted that one reason is the wide range of social benefits available, which discourage them from looking for a job. Added to this is a category that is difficult to quantify: those who work off the books or in the gray economy, especially in rural areas or in seasonal activities without legal contracts. In Romania, the unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in March, up from 6% the previous month.
The unemployment rate fell to 0.44% in March in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, according to data from the Municipal Employment Agency. According to the agency, the number of unemployed people registered with it is nearly 5,800. Of all Bucharest residents who are unemployed and looking for work, over 1,700 were receiving unemployment benefits. In terms of age groups, the largest number of unemployed are in the 40–49 age bracket, approximately 1,400, while at the other end of the spectrum are those under 25 years of age, about 200. The agency also notes that unemployed individuals with a high school education account for the largest share of the total, over 35%. The smallest number of unemployed is represented by those with a primary school education or no education at all, less than one percent. Municipal Employment Agency in Bucharest reported that nearly 3,700 people participated in vocational training programs organized during the first three months of 2026. 174 free vocational training programs were organized, most of them for professions such as sales clerk, security guard, data entry, processing, and validation operator, human resources clerk, occupational safety and health inspector, cook and kitchen assistant, hairdresser, and barber. At the same time, the Bucharest agency announced that it will organize a Job Fair on May 12, open to anyone looking for a job.
The number of job openings in Arad County, in western Romania, is half what it was during the same period last year, while the unemployment rate remains above 2.3%, according to the local Employment Agency. Nearly 400 jobs at 130 employers were available on the job placement platform on the Arad Employment Agency website. Most companies are hiring one or two people, according to the listed ads, and only one company is seeking 50 unskilled workers for component assembly. The director of Arad Employment Agency, Alexandru Molnar, stated that the number of job openings began to decline as early as June 2025, but that there is hope for an improvement in the situation later this year thanks to new contracts signed by major economic operators. (LS)
