Romania To Determine No. Of State Employees To Be Laid Off In Each Sector In 2012

Barbu said the number of state employees will be cut by about 120,000 next year and employees working in public administration will also be targeted.

The minister said authorities have not yet determined how many people will be laid off in each sector, adding analyses are underway.

President Traian Basescu said Thursday Romania will continue to lower its state employee numbers to reach 1.1 million by the end of 2012.

„This process will continue and Romania will have around 1.1 million state employees by the end of 2012 from the current 1.4 million,” said Basescu. He said Romania has shed 180,000 state employees from January 2010 to October this year, at an average rate of 5,000 state employees per month.

Prime Minister Emil Boc said last Friday the Government will unfreeze hiring next year in the healthcare, education and administration sectors if they are dire in need of more staff.

If the need for more staff in the health, education and possibly administration sectors is high next year, the Government will apply derogation from the norm which states only one in seven vacant positions may be filled, said the prime minister, adding authorities will unfreeze hiring in these sectors through Government decisions.