In Romania, 62.3% of those working part-time did not find a full-time position, the highest share in the EU
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In 2025, Romania recorded the highest proportion in the European Union of people working part-time because they had not found a full-time job. The figure of 62.3%, confirmed by the Eurostat series for the 15–64 age group, appears in the messages of the Employment Committee (EMCO), approved by European ministers in Luxembourg on 19 October 2026. The EU average was 17.8%, while the lowest proportion, 2.2%, was recorded in the Netherlands.
In brief
In 2025, 62.3% of people working part-time in Romania stated that they had not found a full-time job. This is the highest proportion in the EU for this indicator.
The percentage concerns only the group of people working part-time, aged between 15 and 64. It does not describe the situation of 62.3% of the entire employed population.
The EU average fell from 18.3% in 2024 to 17.8% in 2025. In the Netherlands, the proportion was 2.2%.
Romania also had an employment rate of 69% in the 20–64 age group, compared with 76.1% in the EU. The proportion of young people aged 15–29 who were not working and were not in education or training was 19.2%, compared with 11% in the EU.
EMCO recommends effective employment services, training and support for transitioning to better jobs. The Council’s approval of the messages does not automatically turn part-time contracts into full-time contracts.
The indicator measures a stated reason for working part-time. In the European Labour Force Survey, respondents specify the main reason why they have such a schedule in their main job. The inability to find a full-time job is a distinct category from studies, health problems, caring for other people, or other family and personal reasons.
Therefore, the mere fact that a person works fewer hours does not automatically place them in the category of involuntary part-time work. For some, reduced hours may be a suitable choice; for others, it is the accepted solution in the absence of a full-time position. The statistic distinguishes between them based on the response concerning the main reason.
The denominator is essential for understanding the result. The 62.3% is calculated within the group of people who already work part-time. It does not show how widespread reduced working hours are in Romania, nor what proportion of the entire employed population would prefer to work more hours.
The difference of 44.5 percentage points compared with the EU average shows how different the composition of this group is in Romania. It cannot be converted into a difference of the same magnitude among all employed people in the two populations. Comparisons using all employed people or only employees have a different denominator and must be analyzed separately.
The Eurostat series refers to employed people who work part-time. For this reason, the wording should not automatically be restricted to employees or to a particular type of individual employment contract. Furthermore, the indicator is not an unemployment rate, since the people included in it are already working.
At EU level, the fall from 18.3% in 2024 to 17.8% in 2025 represents a decrease of 0.5 percentage points. However, the aggregate trend does not automatically describe the change in every country. The 2025 data show major differences between states, from 2.2% in the Netherlands to 62.3% in Romania.
For someone who wants full-time work but cannot find such a position, the reduced number of hours may limit monthly income and professional opportunities. The concrete effect depends on hourly pay, the hours actually worked, and the household’s other income. The published percentage alone does not establish people’s incomes or the reason for the lack of suitable positions.
EMCO includes involuntary part-time work in its analysis of job and career security. The 2026 annual assessment uses an updated framework for monitoring job quality, complementing the measurement of the number of employed people with indicators concerning income, stability, working time, skills, equality, and occupational health and safety.
The distinction between the quantity and quality of employment is relevant for Romania also through the other indicators presented in the report. The employment rate of people aged 20–64 fell from 69.5% in 2024 to 69% in 2025. In the EU, it rose to 76.1%, the highest level in the statistical series used by EMCO.
The employment rate shows the proportion of people in the respective age group who work, regardless of whether they work full-time or reduced hours. It answers a different question from the indicator of involuntary part-time work. The two percentages cannot be added together and do not refer to the same group of people.
The report also highlights young people’s difficulties entering the labour market. In 2025, Romania had the highest proportion in the EU of people aged 15–29 who were neither employed nor participating in education or training, at 19.2%, compared with the European average of 11%. The category, known by the acronym NEET, includes both people seeking a job and people outside the labour force; it is not equivalent to youth unemployment.
To reduce labour-market segmentation, the EMCO messages indicate active policies, effective employment services, access to training, and adequate social protection. The document also mentions incentives for employers to offer permanent full-time jobs. These are public-policy directions, without a new funding scheme or contractual obligations created by approval of the messages.
The Council approved EMCO’s findings within the framework of the European Semester, the mechanism for coordinating economic and social policies. At the same meeting, ministers separately discussed the future Legislative Act on quality jobs, including algorithmic management, artificial intelligence, telework, and the right to disconnect. The discussion did not constitute adoption of that act and did not create an automatic right to move from part-time to full-time work.
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