Working in Romania

27% of the Romanian managers are concerned with the labour shortage reported in the first half of the year, according to a Confidex survey conducted by Impetum Group. This is 16% more than the level reported at the end of lui 2022. "The labour shortage seems to become one of the main concerns for the business environment, overtaking other worrying issues such as the inflation rate and price rises, which were a concern for almost half of the managers interviewed at the end of last year," the polling company said. One solution to this problem, according to some managers, is to integrate public sector employees in the private system and to import human resources from other countries. But the latter has proved complicated, given that Romania is not an attractive country for immigrant workers, so employee retention is a challenge in itself, the survey authors also pointed out. The Confidex survey aims to provide a clear image of the perceptions of business people in Romania, with more than 2,500 entrepreneurs and company executives taking part in the 8 editions of the poll so far.

The biggest problem facing construction companies in Romania at present has to do with the workforce, an IBC Focus report reads. Over 75% of the constructions entrepreneurs say they still struggle with labour shortages, and only 11% of the respondents say they have enough employees and well trained people in their teams. Nearly 58% of the participants in the poll said they were interested in increasing their personnel numbers in the coming year. Also, one in 3 constructions companies in Romania currently uses foreign workers, as opposed to 1 in 4 companies last year. The authors of the poll argue that the number of companies adjusting to the labour market and defining procedures for employing foreign workers is growing, and some 20% of the construction companies in Romania are looking at the option of hiring foreign nationals.

Another survey, conducted by Deloitte, indicates that 41% of the companies operating in Romania which say they cannot find enough staff are facing a shortage of skills required for the current business systems, which is why companies increasingly resort to so-called "workforce eco-systems," which involve the identification and management of new types of human resources, such as consultants, freelancers, contractors or outsourcing, in addition to traditional workforce consisting of full time or part time employees. The Deloitte report also indicates that, for companies in Romania, the benefits of a workforce eco-system comprising several different types of human resources and managed through customized strategies and processes include improved financial performance for 41% of the respondents and better personnel retention for 29% of the respondents. Taking part in the latest edition of the Global Human Capital Trends report, conducted by Deloitte on a yearly basis, were around 10,000 respondents from 105 countries, including Romania.

More than 4,000 foreign nationals were found staying in Romania illegally in the first 9 months of this year, the General Immigration Inspectorate announced. In January - September, the police conducted nearly 13,000 checks and inspections aimed at preventing and fighting the illegal stay and unregistered employment of foreign nationals in Romania. Local employment inspectorate employees also took part in these actions. Some 9,000 fines were issued for the violation of the legal and employment status of foreigners, and around 3,200 people were issued return decisions. Another 1,000 were escorted out of the country, and 960 others were taken into custody until their repatriation. (AMP)