Lazy Romania: 200,000 Romanians Fit for Work Have No Job

Are Romanians lazy? According to the latest official statistics from the National Institute for Statistics, 200,000 Romanians who are fit for work prefer not to have a job.

This is why Asian-workforce recruiting firms active in Romania have reached millions in turnover, bringing Asian labour to a country where the younger generations refuse to have a job and prefer to live on their parents’ money.

More precisely, the Romanian Government has to issue temporary working licenses for Asian people because the younger Romanians are not interested in fulfilling the tasks associated with jobs in hospitality, agriculture or transport. 100,000 working licences issued for non-EU citizens a year means that Romanians who don’t look for a job could quickly fill in this workforce deficit. Yet, they prefer staying at home.

This is a problem of education and the involution of a whole nation. For the lazybones individuals, the most significant economic cost of unemployment is the lost income. For society, the economic cost of unemployment is the decrease in goods and services due to unemployment, let alone the taxes the salaries would carry.

So, instead of boasting low-value programs such as Educated Romania, a zero-effect presidential strategy, the institutions would instead carry on programs to offer incentives to those who are active but don’t want to seek a job actively.

On the other hand, in a country where less than half of young Romanians pass the Baccalaureate, the expectations cannot be that high.

According to the National Institute of Statistics, last year, out of 14.4 million people aged between 15 and 74, 7.6 million people were employed, and the number of those who were actively looking for work (unemployed) was 455,000, down from 462,000 at the end of 2022.

Among the inactive population aged 15-74, more precisely 6.2 million people, 202,000 were part of the additional potential labour force, decreasing by 0.4% compared to the previous year. Specifically, 195,300 people were available to start work but were not looking for a job, while only 7,000 were doing so but were not available to start work immediately.

In 2023, 99,000 people with a job but with a part-time schedule wanted and could work more hours than at present (being considered underemployed). Compared to the previous year, the number of underemployed people decreased by 11,000.