How attractive Romania is for foreign workers and in which countries Romanians would like to work

Romania is in 89th place in the list of the most attractive professional relocation destinations, rising in the ranking compared to 2020, when it was in 92nd place, but below the rating of 2018, when it reached the 78th position.

Bucharest, on the other hand, gets a lower score than the national level, being placed in 118th place, according to the annual study carried out by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), The Network, The Stepstone Group and eJobs.ro, the only partner of The Network on the Romanian market. The candidates who would be most tempted to accept a job offer from Romania are those from Pakistan, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary and Austria, followed by those from Tunisia, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Serbia and Ireland.

“Asked what would be the reasons why they would choose Romania, 52% put first the quality of life, the fact that there is a friendly environment for families (49%), the number and type of jobs put on the market by employers (47%), the cost of living (40%), the hospitable spirit and inclusive culture (38%), the fact that it is a country where they would feel safe (34%), but also the fact that the formalities to access the labor market in Romania are less complicated than for other countries. However, we lack arguments such as the quality of life or the existence of a health system in which they can trust, reasons that can be found, however, in the list of those who would like to emigrate, in general, not only to Romania”explains Roxana Drăghici, Head of Sales at eJobs.ro, the Network’s partner in Romania.

In which countries do Romanians want to work?

On the other hand, the reasons that lead Romanians to consider the option of working outside are related to the economic context and the fact that they want higher salaries, as claimed by 85% of the respondents. The list of arguments goes on with the better career prospects they think they would have in another country (48%), a better quality of life in general (77%), the number and type of jobs put on the market by employers foreigners (50%), but also access to another cultural environment (43%). “Those who postpone the decision to leave the country or simply refuse this option say that they are kept here by the fact that they would be separated from their family, by their attachment to home and by the fear that they would not could adapt, but also the high costs that a relocation would entail. Romanians are also afraid of the language barrier, the cultural differences and, because we are a nation that would rather buy a home than rent, they are discouraged by the fact that it would be quite difficult for them to make a purchase estate“, says Roxana Drăghici.

These arguments must also be correlated with the fact that 31% of the Romanian candidates who would be willing to go abroad would do so for a long period of time. Only 8% would aim for a shorter experience of no more than one year. The countries to which most of the Romanian candidates go are Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, USA, France, Holland and Austria.

From the beginning of the year until now, from the almost 100,000 jobs posted on eJobs.ro. about 9,000 were for abroad. For these, 55,000 applications were registered, respectively 1.4% of the total number of applications related to the period January – May 2024.The study carried out at the end of last year together with the Boston Consulting Group also shows that, at the country level, 23% of the research participants were willing to go to work outside the country. Regarding the candidate segments with the greatest demand among employers, the percentages look like this: 24% of those with higher education and specialists would be interested in working abroad and 32% of young candidates”adds Roxana Drăghici.

Globally, candidates from all 185 countries participating in the study ranked London first as the city they would most like to work in. The ranking continues with Amsterdam, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and New York.

The study was conducted between October and December 2023 on a sample of 150,000 respondents from 185 countries, including Romania. Responses were collected by The Network, along with internationally affiliated recruiting platforms and processed by Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. This is the largest profile survey conducted on a global sample.