Unemployment rate continued to grow in February, to 8.3 per cent, against 8.1 per cent in the previous month and 5.3 per cent in February 2009, the National Employment Agency (ANOFM) said yesterday. The total number of unemployed registered in February was 762,375 people, of whom 311,541 women, the unemployment rate among the latter being 7.4 per cent. The biggest unemployment rates were registered in the following counties: Mehedinti, Vaslui, Alba, Teleorman, Dolj, Ialomita, Covasna, Galati, Gorj, Harghita, Caras Severin. Counties with the lowest unemployment rates, below the percentage registered at national level, are: Ilfov, Timis, Bihor, Cluj, Arad, Maramures, Constanta, Iasi, Vrancea. In Bucharest, the unemployment rate was 2.4 per cent in February. Labour Minister Mihai Seitan said at the end of December the jobless rate would hike to 8 – 8.5 per cent in the first quarter, but will lower to 7.3 per cent at year-end, from 7.8 per cent at the end of 2009. He also mentioned 70,000 – 80,000 jobs could be removed from the budgetary system in 2010. At the end of January, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission in Romania, Jeffrey Franks, said unemployment could continue advancing until mid-2010 and the number of unemployed could reach one million. His estimate was soon argued against by Premier Emil Boc, who said no official IMF document refers to the number of jobless in Romania and that the government’s analyses show the jobless rate will stand below the level recorded in 2009.
Over 1,900 unemployed on Bechtel
Also yesterday, the Cluj branch of the National Employment Agency, AJOFM, received from Bechtel a notice regarding the laying off of over 1,900 employees from Transylvania Expressway site, but the institution warned the company that it did not observe legal collective layoff procedures. AJOFM Cluj director Daniel Don however voiced hope that the layoffs would not be carried out, these being only “pressures” exerted by Bechtel in order to recover the amounts of money that it has to cash from the Romanian state on account of Transylvania highway works. Bechtel asked AJOFM and the Territorial Labour Inspectorate to annul 1,900 employee dismissals.
previous post
