More than half of the Roma polled said they had not worked at all in the last two years. Some 38% of the respondents who were employed worked as unskilled laborers, 32% had skilled jobs, 9% worked in agriculture and 13% worked in traditional Roma crafts.
The study says the respondents’ availability for work remains significant, with some 76% saying they are ready to work as soon as they get an offer.
Women make up 70% of the economically inactive population. More Roma women than men worked in traditional crafts and many women work in occupations dealing with care for people with difficulties or children, or as school or sanitary mediators.
A larger share of young people is also without occupation – 20% of Roma aged 25-34 say they are inactive, and 42% are unemployed.
According to the study, poor education is a part of the vicious circle of poverty and dependence, which includes the lack of free access to healthcare, living in improper conditions and discrimination. Two in ten Roma children do not attend school and 25% of adults over 16 years of age are illiterate. Some 70% of illiterate respondents are from rural areas.
Also, 23% of respondents have not finished any level of education, 26% have finished four grades and 34% have finished eight grades.
As regards the Roma population’s migration, 75% said they had never traveled abroad. When asked whether they intended to travel outside the country in the next year, 69% of respondents said no and 27% said yes.
“Work is the main reason for traveling, indicating that Roma migration is marked by the lack of resources and efforts to find them abroad. Almost 65% of the Roma people away from the country are aged 18-39,” the study says. Three quarters of the Roma who have traveled abroad returned home after six months or less, and most lived outside the country for less than three months.
The study polled 1,100 subjects, self-identified Roma, both from compact and scattered communities.