The number of "active employees" increased in Romania by over 15,000 since the end of 2019, labor minister Violeta Alexandru claims, Agerpres reported.

She rejected the allegations that one million Romanians have lost their jobs amid the coronavirus crisis.

While the allegation about one million lost jobs holds no water, the increase in the number of "active employees" is also problematic.

According to the statistics office (INS), the number of employees in the Romanian economy decreased to 4.906 million at the end of August, some 73,000 fewer than the 4.979 million registered one year earlier.

At the end of 2019, the employment was 4.973 million - meaning that it decreased by some 67,000 year-to-date (as of August).

Unless minister Alexandru has updated information and the employment rose significantly over the past couple of months, her statement is not covered by official data.

Meanwhile, unemployment increased visibly in Romania, but not dramatically considering the rising wages.

The number of working-age (15-74 years) Romanians actively seeking a job (ILO unemployed) increased to just above 490,000 in August, 46% (or 154,000) more compared to the same month last year, but slightly down from July.

In August, the overall unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% (gross data) from 5.6% in July but 1.7pp up from 3.7% in August 2019.

(Photo: Violeta Alexandru Facebook Page)

iulian@romania-insider.com