Only 45% of graduates find work, while 37% become unemployed and 18% become inactive, indicating the weak correlation between the educational system and labor market demand.
BNS president Dumitru Costin said Tuesday that 10% of the employed population did not keep the same job in 2011, a higher share than recorded in previous years: 8% in 2009 and 7% in 2010. Of the 10%, around one quarter changed the job, while the rest became unemployed or inactive.
According to the study on workforce mobility, the likelihood of an employed person becoming unemployed or inactive was 7.7% in 2011, compared with 3.3% in 2010. This is a reflection of the crisis, but also public and private policies to restructure through personnel cuts. This likelihood is higher than the effective unemployment rate and will have a negative impact on welfare expenses throughout 2012.
People with less education are three times more likely to become unemployed or inactive, compared with other categories; people in rural areas are four times more likely to lose their job compared with those in urban areas; temporary employees are six times more likely than permanent employees to become unemployed.
Employees working in agriculture, real estate transactions and construction are the most at risk. Surprisingly, in a good farming year, 20% of agriculture workers became unemployed or inactive in 2011.
“Less than 2% of the employed population is looking for a job. The least interested in changing their job are public sector employees with higher education, especially those working in public administration, defense or welfare. Despite the salary cuts, the lack of alternatives and perhaps the existence of certain non-salary benefits may explain this,” said Costin.
According to the study, one public sector employee in one thousand is actively looking for a new job, as is one private sector employee in 50, one permanent employee in 142 and one temporary worker in 11.
The long-term unemployment rate was 58% in 2011, up from 50% in 2010. Young people without higher education are the most affected category: six in ten remain unemployed and two in ten become inactive. Costin said the real unemployment rate is about 20%, not 7% as reported by the authorities.
The study was carried out on a sample of 4,471 people, in September-December 2011.
According to Costin, social security contributions should be reduced by five points and the minimum wage should be raised from RON700 to RON800, with a positive impact on the state budget and employees and no impact on companies.
“Reforms should provide a general framework to stimulate labor demand and direct resources to protect people during a workplace transition, or when moving from unemployment or inactivity to reintegration, focusing on disadvantaged categories (young people, without higher education, in rural areas),” said the union leader. (EUR1=RON4.348)