Number of unemployed in Romania reaches 8-year low in November

Romania had 521,202 unemployed people in November 2016, this being the lowest level registered since the start of the economic crisis in 2008. The number was slightly lower than the one reported for October 2016, of 522,472, and much lower than the one registered in November 2015, namely 606,698. The unemployment rate stood at 5.7% in November last year, down from 5.8% the previous month, and 6.6% in November 2015. In gender terms, the jobless rate among men (6.5%) was 1.8 percent points higher than the one registered in women’s case (4.7%). For adult people (aged between 25 and 74), the unemployment rate was estimated at 4.7%, in November last year, their number representing 75.6% of the total number of unemployed people. Romania's Government introduced bonuses of over EUR 3,000 for the unemployed who relocate from their homes to take on jobs, in December 2016. Data from the EU’s statistical office Eurostat shows that some 24.4% of the employees in Romania are low-wage earners, the second-highest share in the European Union after Latvia (25.5%). Moreover, the low-wage threshold in Romania is the second lowest in the EU, of only EUR 1.4 per hour. This means that a quarter of all Romanian employees make less than EUR 1.4 (gross) per hour. PwC: Romanian employees are more productive but companies find it harder to keep them Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com