100,000 newly admitted foreign workers set to join Romania's workforce in 2022

Romania's Ministry of Labour has put forth a proposal for the 2022 quota of foreign workers newly admitted to the local workforce to be set at 100,000 to fix the labour shortage in areas such as construction of buildings, roads, restaurants, road transport, hotels and bakery, according to a press statement released on Thursday.

Data with the National Employment Agency (ANOFM) show that, between January and August 2021, there were 264,983 job openings, 50,924 of which had been repeatedly advertised by employers because the jobs would not be taken.

"From our assessments, the supply of jobs from employers is standing at about 480,000 against demand for about 200,000. To help employers fix this shortage of labour, the government next year will increase to 100,000 the number of permits granted to foreign workers. That does not mean that 100,000 foreign workers will come to Romania, but that we give the opportunity to all employers in the country to use human resources from abroad, if they fail to find Romanian employees to avoid business blockages. It is a customary economic decision that has been made by other countries as well, because economic development is a priority," according to Labour Minister Raluca Turcan.

So far in 2021, the number of certificates requested by employers of the local ANOFM offices for winning the approval of the General Immigration Inspectorate to hire foreigners in Romania has increased substantially.

Thus, between January and August 2021, 6,518 companies requested certificates for 83,338 job openings for which there were no takers available in Romania, as against 4,135 companies and 49,200 jobs available in the same period in 2020.

Under Government Ordinance 25/2014, as subsequently amended and supplemented, Article 7 (2) (a), foreigners can be hired in Romania only if, after undertaking due diligence, the employer fails to hire a Romanian citizen, a citizen of another member state of the European Union or of the European Economic Area, a Swiss national or a foreigner holding the right to long stay in Romania.

The quota of newly admitted foreign workers is set annually by government decision at the proposal of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. For 2021, a contingent of 25,000 newly admitted foreign workers was initially set that was later on supplemented by 50,000 under an August 2021 government decision.