“According to recent estimates, one million and a half Romanians went to work abroad. Plus, several large investments have been made in the country in the past few years. I expect the personnel deficit to last two-three years,” said recruitment company Lugera&Makler’s Country Manager, Cristina Sãvuicã. She added Romanians are attracted by higher salaries in the West. The World Bank report concurs with these conclusions.
The publication states that the migration of the labor force and massive foreign investments in emerging countries have led to a severe lack of personnel. In the coming years, the World Bank warns, these economies could be impaired by difficulties in finding both qualified and non-qualified workers.
The unemployment rate has dropped below 7 percent in former communist countries, from an average exceeding 10 percent in 2000.
However, Romanians have not only migrated to Western European countries, but also to neighboring countries, where salaries are 30-50 percent higher than in Romania. “One of our clients has production units in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Some 100 Romanians work there. They leave the country on Sunday and come back for the weekend,” Cristina Sãvuicã said.
In spite of the personnel crisis, Romania is the only country in the region where the employment rate has dropped since 2000. According to the World Bank publication, many people aged 15-64 are not working because they cannot meet company demands.
“There will be fewer problems once salaries in Romania become attractive enough for Romanians who have emigrated. In the construction field, some are already coming back, because salaries have risen significantly in the past few years,” according to Gabriel Ionescu, President of HR Club, an association of recruitment professionals.
World Bank experts recommend that Eastern European countries reform their social security systems to stimulate those not currently working to look for a job. Reforming the education system and stimulating labor force mobility within the countries’ borders are other recommendations.
The international institution says that a further solution is the opening of the market to foreign workers. Several employers in Romania have already resorted to this measure, especially in the construction and textile industries, although the authorities are not providing any facilities in this respect.
Personnel crisis
In spite of the personnel crisis, Romania is the only country in the region where the employment rate has dropped since 2000. According to the World Bank publication, many people aged 15-64 are not working because they cannot meet company demands.
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