Real wages in Romania down 4.5% due to inflation, analysis says

With an hourly labor cost of EUR 13.6, Romania stands at approximately 39% of the European Union average of EUR 34.9/hour. The country remains one of the most competitive investment destinations from the perspective of labor costs, but the advantage is beginning to diminish amid accelerated wage growth and the shortage of skilled workers.

Over the past year, hourly labor costs increased by 10.6%, one of the highest rates outside the euro area.

The ranking compiled by International Work Finder and cited by Economedia confirmed that IT remains the sector with the highest salaries in Romania, with a net median of RON 11,750 per month, more than twice the national average. IT is followed by the legal and pharmaceutical sectors, each with a median of RON 11,000, while sales completes the top with RON 10,750.

At the opposite end, retail remains the sector with the lowest salary levels among the fields analyzed, with a net median of RON 4,700 per month.

The highest-paid role analyzed in the study is medical director, with a net median of RON 28,000, almost ten times the level of entry-level positions in the salary scale.

Salary expectations still large

One of the most important conclusions of the International Work Finder study is that the gap between candidates’ salary expectations and companies’ budgets is no longer narrowing as the economy evolves, as happened in previous economic cycles.

Currently, candidates are asking for an average of RON 7,000 net, while companies’ offers are around RON 5,400, resulting in a gap of approximately 30%. In certain fields, such as energy engineering, the difference reaches 42%, while in banking and real estate, it is around 40%.

Bucharest tops wages ranking

The regional analysis included in the Romania Salary Barometer 2026 highlighted significant differences between the main economic centers and the rest of the country.

With an average net salary of RON 7,073, Bucharest is 46% above the average of the 42 administrative units analyzed, estimated at RON 4,839. The capital is followed by Cluj, with RON 6,633 (+37%), and Timiș, with RON 6,192 (+28%). At the opposite end is Hunedoara, with an average net salary of RON 4,108.

“Romania’s labor market is becoming increasingly polarized. For companies that cannot compete with salaries in Bucharest or Cluj, the solution is not always to increase budgets, but to develop recruitment strategies adapted to the specifics of each region and, where necessary, access new sources of talent, including from outside Romania,” said Georgiana Brudaru, Head of Recruitment, International Work Finder.