Annals of the University of Oradea: Economic Science (Dec 2011)
THE EVOLUTION OF ROMANIA'S LABOR MARKET, DURING THE LAST 20 YEARS
Abstract
In this paper, the authors will try to analyze the evolution of Romanias labor market, in the last nearly 22 years. More precisely, we will analyze the evolution of the number of employees, the number of pensioners, and the number of unemployed workers, in the mentioned period of time, and we will draw some conclusions. We consider that the dynamic of the labor market is an important indicator, showing both the economic situation, as well as its future evolution; this is why we have chosen to focus our study on it. In order to do so, using the data published by the National Institute for Statistics, and the National Agency for Labor Force Employment, we have noticed worrying evolutions for Romania's labor market: a decrease in the number of employees, an increase in the number of unemployed workers and pensioners, as well as an increase in the number of those who, although able to work, do not have and do not officially look for a workplace. In fact, this is a limit of our research, because those persons either work (abroad, or on the black market), either do look for a workplace, but are not registered as unemployed workers. Another limit of our research is related to the insufficient explanations related to the evolution of the different indicators. But our purpose was to offer an overview of the labor market for the last nearly 22 years, and to suggest some measures to be taken in the future. In order to do that, we have analyzed the evolution of the number of employees, the percentage of employees in the population able to work, the evolution of the number of unemployed workers, the evolution of the number of pensioners. Also, we have made a comparative analysis of the evolution of the number of employees and of the number of pensioners. Through this paper, we have tried to draw attention upon the worrying phenomena taking place on Romania's labor market, as well as upon the fact that our country should take urgent measures in order to increase the number of employees in the economy.