eJobs: Fewer Romanians interested in working abroad as global uncertainty grows
Fewer and fewer Romanians are interested in a job abroad, especially now as the international context becomes increasingly uncertain. Only 6.3% already have a plan when it comes to leaving and working abroad in 2026, according to a recent survey conducted by employment platform eJobs.
Almost 28,000 applications for jobs abroad have been recorded since the beginning of the year until now, only 1% of the total applications registered in Romania. The countries that attracted the most applications were Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Sweden, and France.
Aside from the 6.3% that plan to leave, 21.2% stated that they will consider leaving if they do not find a satisfactory job in Romania. Another 60.1% said they have no plans to leave the country, and 12.5% would be willing to work for a foreign employer if they accepted a remote collaboration that would not require relocation.
“If we make a distinction between the data and look strictly at what has happened in the market since March 1, when the war in the Middle East broke out, we see a significant drop in the ranking of Romanians’ preferred destinations for Cyprus, which falls from position 6 to position 12, and a minor one for the United Arab Emirates, from position 7 to position 9,” said Ana Călugăru, Head of Communications at eJobs.
By comparison, Spain, Italy, or Greece are rising in Romanians’ preferences, being considered geopolitically safer or simply centers where candidates can integrate more easily, thanks to the large Romanian communities already there.
Transport, logistics, tourism, and retail are the fields toward which Romanians who plan to work abroad are heading. Insurance is a field recently entering the ranking and, for this first part of the year.
“Abroad continues to remain an option considered primarily by candidates in the 25-35 age segment and then by very young people (18-24). The need for stability and the aversion to such a big change become increasingly pronounced as they advance in age, so candidates over 45 are also those who apply the least,” Călugăru added.
Depending on the career level, the first applicants for jobs in other countries are those who have between 2 and 5 years of experience, followed by entry-level candidates (0–2 years of experience), and only at the end, seniors, with more than 5 years of experience, and those who have no experience at all.
From the point of view of education, the first two places are occupied by candidates from two opposite categories, namely, skilled workers and graduates of higher education.
Almost 2,000 jobs have been posted seeking Romanians to go work abroad since the beginning of 2026. Most are in Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, or the US. Candidates are sought to work in construction, healthcare, the automotive industry, production, the food industry, services, and tourism.
(Photo source: Mohamad Faizal Ramli|Dreamstime.com)
