Romania had over 500,000 unemployed at the end of last year. The potential additional labor force included 204,500 people.

The National Institute of Statistics reported a number of 500,300 BIM unemployed in 2025, and the share of underemployed individuals in the active population was 0.9%, with a decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous year.

The potential additional labor force was 204,500 individuals, registering a decrease of 8.6% compared to the previous year.

The INS emphasizes that the unemployment rate is an essential indicator for analyzing the labor market, alongside other indicators such as inactive individuals who are either seeking or not seeking employment. Among inactive individuals aged 15-74, 204.5 thousand constituted the potential additional labor force, while 199.2 thousand were available to start working but were not actively looking for a job.

Additionally, 75.4 thousand individuals employed part-time wanted to work more hours, representing 0.9% of the active population.

Compared to the previous year, the number of underemployed individuals decreased by 12.1 thousand.