Employment rises in Romania over 2012, but at a slowing rate

The latest EU figures show that employment in Romania has risen for the first three quarters year-on-year, but at a slowing rate. Employment in Romania rose by 2.5 percent in the first quarter, by 1.2 percent in the second and by 0.3 percent in Q3, all compared to the same quarter a year earlier, according to EU statistics office Eurostat. Quarter-on-quarter figures were unavailable for Romania. At an EU level, employment fell at an increasing rate over the first three quarters, in both the eurozone and on average for the EU 27. Employment fell by 0.3 percent in Q1 and Q2, and by 0.5 percent in the third quarter, all compared to the same quarter the previous year, on average in the EU 27. Results for the eurozone were worse still; a 0.5 percent fall in employment in the first quarter of 2012, followed by 0.7 percent falls in Q2 and Q3, all year-on-year. According to Eurostat, employment fell in most sectors with the largest falls seen in construction. editor@romania-insider.com