Working in Romania
The latest from the Romanian labour market
România Internațional, 08.05.2025, 12:41
The Acting President of Romania, Ilie Bolojan, has promulgated the law amending and supplementing certain normative acts regarding foreigners, which aims to establish measures aimed at ensuring respect for the legal labor rights of seasonal workers from third countries. The normative act is based on the principles recognized by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular art. 31 regarding fair and just working conditions and increasing the contribution that these persons bring to the socio-economic life of EU states. Thus, the possibility of revoking the visa or temporary residence permit of seasonal workers is established if the employer is liquidated, becomes insolvent, does not carry out economic activities, has not paid its debts or has been sanctioned in the last six months for certain contraventions. Also, the obligation of the seasonal worker to prove that they maintain the guaranteed minimum gross salary throughout the period of stay is eliminated. Other amendments refer to the application of professional training requirements only in the case of regulated professions, as well as to the establishment of compensation for the employee in case the visa or residence permit is revoked for reasons not attributable to him.
Over 770 foreigners in illegal situations on Romanian territory were detected by the police in the first three months of the year, the General Inspectorate for Immigration has reported. Most of them are from Nepal, namely 168 people, followed by citizens from Sri Lanka – 113, Bangladesh – 85, the Republic of Moldova – 67 and Turkey – 29. Following verifications, the Inspectorate has issued 659 return decisions. For the implementation of escorted return operations, 211 people were placed in public custody. In 148 cases, the reason was the fraudulent crossing of the state border or the attempt to fraudulently cross the border. Other facts for which the foreigners were detained included the risk of evading the measure of removal under escort and failure to comply with the return decision. The Inspectorate has also reported that, during the mentioned period, in partnership with the Territorial Labor Inspectorate, it carried out a national information campaign dedicated to employers who employ foreigners, as well as to foreign individuals who wish to work legally in Romania.
The unemployment rate in Olt County, in southwestern Romania, increased in the first three months of this year and reached 6.21%, the County Employment Agency reports. Thus, the number of people looking for a job was over 700 higher in March than in January. According to the Olt AJOFM, at the end of March, the institution’s files recorded almost 8,100 unemployed people, of whom about 1,200 were beneficiaries of unemployment benefits. At the same time, in the first three months of this year, 803 people were hired through the Olt AJOFM, less than in the first quarter of previous years, given that in the period January-March 2024 over 1,400 people were hired. Of the total number of people employed in the first three months of 2025, approximately 420 are in the category of individuals who are difficult or very difficult to employ, a category that includes more than half of the unemployed in Olt County.
Almost 32,900 jobs are vacant in Romania, the National Employment Agency has announced. Most of the jobs are for security guards, road freight drivers, goods handlers, unskilled building demolition workers, bricklayers, workers in mosaic tiles, tiles, sandstone, parquet, commercial workers and unskilled workers in assembling and fitting parts. Couriers, cooks’ assistants, unskilled workers in breaking and cutting construction materials, kitchen workers and semi-automatic and automatic machine tool operators are also in high demand. Of the total number of vacant positions, most, around 17,400, are for people with no education or primary or secondary education, and the fewest, around 1,900, for those with higher education. (MI)
