The Labor Situation in Romania
The Romanian Government has adopted the Emergency Ordinance regulating the access of foreigners to the labor market
Călin Coțoiu and Sorin Iordan, 12.05.2026, 18:34
The Romanian Government has adopted the Emergency Ordinance regulating the access of foreigners to the labor market and clarifying the legal situation of those who remained on the national territory after the termination of the right of residence established by the long-stay visa for employment or by the single permit. The General Inspectorate for Immigration announces that the persons concerned have the right to address the territorial structures of the GII in order to regulate the right of residence. An important step in this process consists of presenting themselves at any of the territorial centers of the institution to declare the address where they actually live, an action that must be completed within 60 days starting with April 27. Subsequently, foreign citizens can request, until December 31, the extension of the right of temporary residence for work purposes without the need to obtain a new long-stay visa for employment. The Inspectorate also indicates that those who present themselves for the regulation of their legal situation will not be sanctioned with misdemeanor fines or be subject to return measures to their country of origin, the aim being to allow them to enter into legality.
The General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection in Covasna, in central Romania, has launched a recruitment campaign for 20 professional personal assistants, in the context of the acceleration of the deinstitutionalization process of adults with disabilities. According to the institution’s management, the program offers significant financial benefits, with assistants being able to receive, in addition to their salary, an additional amount of over 9,300 lei (about 1,800 euros) per month, for two years. The aim of the campaign is to recruit personal assistants to take over and care, at their homes, for some of the 36 adults with severe or pronounced disabilities at the Care and Assistance Center in Târgu Secuiesc Municipality. The Director of DGASPC Covasna, Popa Dolf, said that the program is financed from the state budget, and significant benefits are granted to people who hire themselves as professional personal assistants by the end of June. Dolf also said that the institution he leads is facing a serious staff shortage, given that over 100 positions are currently blocked.
Employees in Romania will work longer in 2026, earn the same, and want to leave, given that one in three declares themselves ready to change jobs in the next 6 months, according to a profile study conducted by the market research agency MKOR. According to the cited source, employee morale is experiencing the most pronounced negative trend in the last 3 years of the study, which began in 2023. During this period, the workload has increased steadily, and the additional pressure has not been accompanied by commensurate compensation. The share of employees reporting salary increases has halved compared to 2023, and in terms of non-salary benefits, 30% of employees say that the package has decreased compared to 2024. Added to this is the decrease in the perception of job security. 29% of employees are increasingly insecure about job stability, which amplifies psychological pressure and fuels the intention to leave. Salary remains the main decision-making factor when it comes to changing jobs, but the study shows that stability and professional growth prospects are becoming increasingly important in the retention equation. The study was conducted on a sample of 1,000 respondents, and the margin of error is ±3.1%.
Approximately 1,000 employees of the Mangalia Shipyard will be laid off in two stages in the next two months, announced the judicial liquidator of the bankrupt Damen company. The employees hoped that they would be kept on the platform, after the companies Rheinmetall and MSC announced that they want to invest in the Black Sea port city. This concerns the construction of 4 military ships through the European SAFE mechanism, for which the contracts should be signed by May 30. The leader of the Navalistul Free Union, Laurenţiu Gobeajă, stated that people are not certain that, once laid off, they will receive full compensatory wages, because the bankruptcy procedure could last for several months or even a year. The auctions for the sale of the Mangalia Shipyard assets are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.
