Romania sees rising number of teenagers entering labor market
Approximately 50,000 young people aged 16 and 17 have applied for a job since the beginning of the year, 25% more compared to the same period in 2025, according to an analysis conducted by online recruitment and job board platform eJobs.
Around 27,800 applications came from 17-year-olds, and 22,200 from those who reached the legal minimum working age, namely 16, according to the analysis.
Candidates from Bucharest were the most active, followed by those from Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Constanța, Timișoara, Iași, Sibiu, and Bacău.
“Even with this development, candidates under 18 remain the category with the lowest number of applications, which is natural considering that we are talking about a very narrow age group,” said Roxana Drăghici, Head of Sales at eJobs, quoted in the statement.
Nevertheless, the shift is major. The age of first employment is decreasing significantly, and the number of young people who want to start working as early as possible is increasing.
Most applications were recorded for jobs in retail, tourism, and the food industry. Other sectors offering a large number of entry-level jobs (0–2 years of experience) or requiring no experience at all, and for which 16- and 17-year-olds applied, are services, manufacturing, sports/beauty/spa, entertainment, and call-center/BPO.
Most of the teenagers are looking for full-time jobs, even though they have not finished high school. Slightly more than a third of applications go to part-time positions, and less than 5% to seasonal or project-based jobs.
Unlike other age segments, in the 16–17 age group, the share of applications for remote jobs is 5.3% of the total, the lowest level compared with other age groups.
“This happens primarily because, in most cases, they are eligible for jobs involving physical work, which means presence at the workplace is mandatory. In addition, at these ages, they do not yet have the maturity and experience necessary for efficient time management, so they can work from home,” Roxana Drăghici specified.
The Romanian Labor Code strictly regulates working hours for minors aged 16 and 17. The maximum work duration is no more than 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week; they are not allowed to work at night, between 20:00 and 6:00, nor are they allowed to work overtime.
According to data from Salario, eJobs’ salary comparison platform, the salaries these candidates can expect range between RON 2,600 (EUR 500) and RON 3,500 (EUR 670) net per month for full-time jobs, but may fall below RON 2,500 if the targeted positions are part-time.
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