The employee return on investment decreased by 12 percent in Romania in 2010, according to PwC’s Saratoga Romania 2011 survey. The indicator that measures the employee return on investment dropped from 1.53 to 1.34.

“Romania’s average employee return on investment decreased quite significantly in 2010. This is a worrying sign about Romania’s competitiveness and the local companies should focus on strengthening financial results and labor productivity in order to maintain Romania as an attractive investment destination in Central and Eastern Europe”, said Peter de Ruiter, Partner, Tax and Legal Services Leader, PwC Romania.

The cost of labor also increased as a percentage in the overall costs of a company, to 10.13 percent in 2010, from 9.26 percent of the total costs in 2009. However, Romania’s costs of labor as a percentage in the overall costs of a company are still low in Romania compared to Western Europe, shows the study. Romania’s human capital return on investment of 1.34 is close to the one of the Central and Eastern Europe’s average of 1.36.

The PwC Saratoga Romania 2011 survey presents comprehensive data on specific Human Capital indicators based on data collected from 81 participating companies from five industry sectors (telecom and technology, industrial products, pharmaceutical industry, retail and consumer goods, and banking).

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Sxc.hu)