A further 11,000 unemployed announced in just 2 weeks

“The construction sector and agriculture, fields in which layoffs are normal during the winter, continue to rank first in terms of the number of employees to be laid off,” Campeanu said. However, she admitted that the fact that the number of future layoffs is rapidly increasing on a daily basis is worrisome.

“We will have a clear situation by the end of January, when things settle down. Most large companies, such as Dacia or ArcelorMittal, have opted for precaution measures, to cease production, but have not laid off employees. In January, however, when the economic evolution becomes be a known factor, these major employers could also resort to layoffs,” Campeanu explained.

According to the former Minister of Labor, the ratio of unemployment could amount to five percent in 2009 from a current 4.2 percent. The county which reported the largest number of future unemployed is Galati, because companies which had contracts with the iron metallurgy complex have laid off over 80 percent of their staff, some 3,000 employees.