Romania: shifts in jobs and skills across sectors according to new study

Based on the existing administrative data it has identified factors that influence the occupational structure and the skills needs by economic sector until 2035. The study complemented the labour market trends at European level in 2030-2040 in priority economic sectors, occupation groups, demand and supply of jobs. It also presented how EU competence frameworks are integrated in the national context.

The study analysis of labour market trends in the EU and Romania highlights significant imbalances between labour supply and demand, particularly in high-skilled occupations such as IT professionals, engineering specialists, healthcare workers, educators, and social services professionals. Romania ranks below the EU average in terms of skills development, which underscores the need to better align education and vocational training with labour market requirements. In quantitative terms, projections for 2035 indicate a dynamic characterised by net job growth. Demand is expected to be particularly strong for professionals in education (6.85 million), administration (6.72 million), health (5.86 million), and science and engineering (5.79 million), alongside the need to enhance digital and green skills and to adopt new technologies.

At the national level, the structure of the employed population points to workforce ageing, declining youth employability, and a growing concentration of employment in the private sector, especially in cultural and recreational activities, services, and IT, while traditional sectors such as agriculture, construction, and manufacturing are in decline. A significant distribution is observed in Professionals sector with 1.68 million active employment contracts, followed by Service and sales workers with 1.04 million contracts, and Elementary occupations – with 0.88 million contracts.

Education levels are strongly correlated with employment rates. In 2024, the employment rate reached 90% among individuals with tertiary education and 70.8% among those with upper secondary education, while it dropped to 15.8% among persons without completed schooling. At the same time, job vacancies are concentrated in elementary occupations, skilled workers, and service workers, and wage growth varies significantly across sectors, influencing job attractiveness and the need for adapted vocational training.

Regarding the school population, in 2023 compared to 2013, the total school population decreased by 5.05%. Pre-university education registered a decline of 10.38%, upper secondary and vocational education (ISCED level 3) decreased by 13.58%, theoretical high schools and colleges by 12.31%, and technical, administrative, and service-oriented high schools experienced a sharp decline of approximately 45%. However, enrolment in vocational education increased by 247.63%. Over the same period, both pre-university and higher education recorded overall decrease in total student enrolment (for example, undergraduate programmes declined by 4.21%, while master’s and postgraduate programmes decreased by 2.80%). The number of graduates varied across fields and study cycles: education sciences – bachelor’s +26.49%, master’s +98.00%, doctorate +33.33%; ICT – bachelor’s +39.77%, master’s +6.87%; health and social assistance – bachelor’s +28.86%, master’s -56.88%; agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary sciences – bachelor’s -10.12%, master’s +5.27%.

At the end of the study, a list of the top 500 occupations was compiled following the application of a final scoring formula, calculated based on multiple criteria analysed within the study. This ranking covered over 1 200 pre-university level occupations included in the Romanian Classification of Occupations (COR).

The study may serve as a working tool for decision-makers, training providers and social partners, for reviewing/creating new occupation standards, VET pathways, and contributes to modernising VET in Romania to increase the competitiveness of the economy.