WASHINGTON: The number of Romanian unemployed went up by 7,400 in May to 478,000 and the unemployment rate expanded to 5.4 percent, according to the data of the National Institute of Statistics (INS). May is the third month from four which marked an increase in the unemployment rate after the increase of the minimum salary by RON 200, to RON 1,450 from February 1. In April, in Romania there were 470,887 unemployed, which is a fresh low, according to the updated data of the INS. The INS statistics shows that the unemployed number dropped close to 70,000 in the last year, from 548,346 in May 2016.
Unemployment is still higher among men, with a rate of 5.9 percent in May, while among women the unemployment is only 4.7 percent, says the data. Since the beginning of this year, unemployment went down in January and April, but it grew in February, March and May. According to the revised series, unemployment registered a fast drop in 2016, every month except December. The decrease was generated mainly due to the fast increase in the labor demand, especially in the developed areas from the big cities. However, the heads of companies complain more often about the lack of qualified labor force, who starts to limit the business development in Romania.
