The number of job vacancies in Romania’s economy grew by 6.8% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of 2016, to 62,220.

The number of vacant jobs is an indicator of the labor force shortage at the national level.

Public administration and the healthcare sector saw the highest vacancy rates. Overall, the labor force crisis has been decreasing in the public sector and growing in the private sector.

The manufacturing industry is the most affected by the labor force shortage, with over 15,800 vacant jobs in the first quarter, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INS). This represents a quarter of the total number of vacant jobs at national level.

The vacancy rate in the manufacturing industry amounted to 1.34%. By comparison, the mining industry had a vacancy rate of only 0.15% in the first three months of the year.

The highest number of job vacancies since 2008 was recorded in the third quarter of 2016.

editor@romania-insider.com