About the ILO in Romania

Improved growth with high poverty and inequality rates

The democratic transition in Romania has been marked by difficult economic and social reforms, which included the restructuring of entire industries also leading to social unrest.

Since the 1990s, Romania has seen periods of very fast growth being considered as one of Europe’s few tiger economies. However, this growth track has been very volatile with several setbacks due to domestic factors like inconsistent reforms and external factors such as the Great Recession. Overall, GDP per capita rose from 30 percent of EU average in 1995 to 69 percent in 2019. Yet with 4.1% GDP growth (2019), it would take Romania another two more decades to reach the average EU living standard. 

The Romanian labour market benefited from the strong economic growth of the past years. In 2019, employment was 66.7% vs EU average 74%, and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2%, at its lowest level in the last 20 years.   Continue reading