Public sector employers in Romania have posted nearly 20,000 job openings since the beginning of the year, with August 2024 being the best month, offering 5,000 job opportunities. 

The number of jobs posted in August was double compared to April, the second-best month of the year, and eight times more than in January when around 600 jobs were available.

The largest public sector employer was the healthcare system, with nearly 7,500 positions open in hospitals, clinics, sanatoriums, and health departments. Next were educational institutions, which posted 5,300 jobs, according to data from Jobradar24.ro, a site part of eJobs.ro. 

"The first seven months of the year were below last year’s level in terms of hiring volume. However, August marked a shift, as a quarter of the total jobs for previous months were posted in that month alone. It seems that September will follow the same trend – we’re already seeing over 200 positions open in just two days,” said Bogdan Badea, CEO of eJobs.ro, one of Romania's largest online recruitment platforms. 

“If this continues, 2024 will likely end above the 2023 level. This isn’t necessarily a surprise, as this year we have four rounds of elections, a first, which will undoubtedly influence the number of employees in the public sector," he added. 

The data also shows that Bucharest leads the national ranking of public sector hires, with 3,500 jobs available for candidates. Cluj is in second place, with 1,200 jobs posted by public institutions, followed by Timiș with just over 900 jobs, and Iași, with nearly 900.

The least hiring occurred in Giurgiu (142 jobs) and Caraș Severin (149 jobs). Less than 200 positions were also opened in Covasna and Olt. 

"More than half of the available jobs targeted white-collar candidates, meaning those with higher education. Nearly 9,000 jobs were aimed at blue-collar (without higher education) and grey-collar candidates. The latter refers to occupations that combine both office work (typical for white-collar workers) and physical work (typical for blue-collar workers)," added Bogdan Badea. 

One of the particularities of the public sector is the type of contracts offered to employees, with almost 90% of them being permanent. The number of temporary contracts is approximately 2,000.

"This is just one of the reasons why more candidates are transitioning from private to public sector employers. In addition to the desire for stability, public sector employees have seen salary increases over the last year, leading to higher incomes in some cases than in the private sector," explained Bogdan Badea. 

In 2024, a 10% increase in base salaries has been set for personnel in fields such as research, culture, diplomacy, environmental protection, and central public administration.

At the beginning of this year, the number of filled positions in the public sector was nearly 1.3 million.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Supattra Suparit | Dreamstime.com)