As proof of good governance, some claim that Romanian economy has created over 120,000 jobs in the past two years. In June the number of employees in the economy has reached, according to the National Institute for Statistics, 4.43 million, as compared to 4.31 million, the figure for June 2012. Let us take a closer look at the statistics. The great majority of the jobs created was in the administrative and support services area (44.8 thousand), the processing industry (43.9 thousand), hotels and restaurants (20 thousand).
If we now look at the level of pay for these types of jobs, we notice that hotels and restaurants is the worst paid sector of the economy, with a gross average salary of 1,344 lei. The administrative and support services actually refer to very poorly paid jobs, during the last year these employees earning as much as a waste collector. And there is also the processing industry, with better paid jobs, but here also the average pay is 7% lower than the average national wage.
The bottom line? The economy has created employment, but in poorly rewarded sectors. This is one more reason why consumption revival is still to come. To better understand the situation of the employment market, we have to also take into account the unemployment rate. As we have already mentioned, the unemployment rate is still high (for Romania) if we consider the economic growth of the past 3-4 years and the increase in employment; we have practically made no progress in this area.
The statistics of the vacant jobs, which is an approximation of the work supply, has seen a certain increase in 2013. That is correct. But a third of the jobs for which the employers seek workforce are in the budgetary sector. And we are still far from the economic boom years, when the vacant jobs rate was of 2%. In other words, the employment market is not yet a roaring tiger in its own right, but rather a kitten.
Bogdan Glavan, professor of economy, blogger at www.logec.ro
