Romania: Alarming Unemployment Rate in Q1 2022

The Romanian National Institute of Statistics (INS) reported on June 17 that the unemployment rate in Romania in the first quarter of 2022 was 6%, up 0.1% from Q1 2021.

According to the INS, the working-age population (15-64 years) had a 62.4 percent employment rate in the first quarter of 2022, up 0.3 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2021. Men (71.5 percent) and those living in urban areas had more excellent employment rates than women (53.1 percent) did (68.0 percent compared to 55.8 percent in rural areas).

Young individuals (15–24 years old) had a 20.1% employment rate.

The unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2022 was 6.0%, up 0.1 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2021. By gender, the gap between the two unemployment rates was 0.9% points ( 6.4% for men compared to 5.5% for women), and in residential areas, 6.2% points (9.6% in rural areas, compared to 3.4% in urban areas).

INS Report

According to age categories, young individuals experienced the highest unemployment rate (23.2%). (15-24 years).

INS warns about the rising unemployment rates among young people. Romania is facing a significant labour problem. The wave of Romanians emigrating to other European countries due to low wages in Romania is growing, and more and more young people are choosing a Western future. This is a worrying indicator for Romania, which has a significant problem with young adults leaving the country.

With a huge crisis coming, the CEOs from the CEE – Central and Eastern Europe expect their companies to lay off more people in 2023. In a survey conducted by PWC, the CEE managers estimated a significant decline in business in the next year. Romania will certainly not be spared during the crisis, and the unemployment rate will grow even higher.

What is to be done if you are an entrepreneur?

Valahia News is conducting a series of interviews with the managers of the Romanian companies. We try to get their opinion regarding how the crisis should be handled, and the results are to be published soon. Maybe the view of some of the most experienced managers will inspire those who want to financially and economically survive the coming period.

Let’s all hope for the best, but everyone should be prepared for the worst. Until we publish the results of our survey, please check our guide on How to survive the economic crisis as an entrepreneur. It might come in handy in the next following months.