Nearly 2M Romanians Fit To Work, Are Unemployed – Fin Min

"In the first months of the year we’ve had a foreign investment dynamic of 32%. We’ve recommended investors to cross the mountains into the eastern part of the country and other areas,” Vosganian said at a roundtable discussion on the Lisbon strategy.

In his turn, the head of the National Union Bloc, or BNS, Dumitru Costin, said Romania is confronted with a workforce shortage. He said people in rural areas, for instance, have little education and will be hard to “take to school”. He added thee people will have a hard time finding a job.

"Minister Vosganian referred to two million Romanians who are fit to work but don’t have the necessary training," Costin said.

Romania’s unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.9% in April from 4.2% in March, due to seasonal job openings, according to data from the country’s employment agency.

In 2007, Romania’s unemployment rate hit a 16-year low at 4.3%, down from 5.4% in 2006, and is on a downward trend due to the ongoing labor crisis caused by a diminishing work force. An estimated two million Romanians are working abroad.

In March, Romanian labor minister Paul Pacuraru said Romania needs up to 100,000 workers to cover labor shortages, according to official employment data.

The Romanian forecasting committee estimates 400,000 workers will be needed in 2013 to cover Romania’s growing workforce deficit.