The employment rate was higher for men (71.0% versus 53.9% for women), respectively for residents in the urban area (69.5% against 55,3% in rural area).
In the first quarter of 2026, the employment rate for the population aged 20-64 years was 68.5%, equal to the level recorded in the previous quarter.
In the first quarter of 2026, Romania’s economically active population was 8197.8 thousand people, of whom 7661.6 thousand were employed and 536.2 thousand were unemployed.
The employment rate for youth (15-24 years) was 16.5%.
The unemployment rate stood at 6.5% in the first quarter of 2026, higher by 0.2 percentage points than in the fourth quarter of 2025.
By sex, the unemployment rate was equal for both men and women, standing at 6.5%, while by residential areas the gap stood at 6.8 percentage points (10.3% in rural areas versus 3.5% in urban areas).
By age groups, the unemployment rate reached the highest level of 27.4% among young people aged 15-24 years.