October statistics suggest the number of jobless jumped to highest in five years and a half: 654,000. And the 2010 outlook remains daunting, since companies will proceed with caution when it time comes to staff up.
10% - psychological barrier
Unemployment rate is expected to hit a record high in the first half of 2010, but most likely it will remain below the psychological barrier of 10%, as there will be unrestructured sectors where the reintegration will be difficult, said the economist of World Bank, Catalin Pauna (photo).
“We haven’t seen the worst in unemployment yet, jobless rate will probably peak in 2010, in first or second quarter. Companies will proceed with caution when it comes time to staff up. Job loss weren’t as high as initially predicted. I don’t think we will see a 10% rate, but it is only a personal opinion”, said Pauna.
The state secretary at the Ministry of Labor, Mihai Seitan said recently the unemployment rate would break through the psychological barrier of 10% in the first half of next year, when the number of jobs lost could reach one million, numbers include Romanian workers expected to return in the country.
“Q1-Q3 had seen a 100% increase in the number of jobs lost, while IMF forecasts indicate 10% unemployment rate in the first half of next year. We’re talking about one million Romanians unemployed, and the numbers include Romanian workers expected to return in the country”, said Mihai Seitan (photo down).
Unemployment rate jumped to 7.1% at the end of October, according the National Labor Agency.
Impact on the young people
According to Catalin Pauna, a certain category of people will find it harder to find a job, such as young graduates and unemployed from unrestructured sectors.
“Unemployment rates among young people was higher even before the downturn, around 20% of them were un
