Romanian Labor Migration Patterns from 1990 to 2009
The Stages of the Post-Communist Immigration Flow
Apr 20, 2009
The first striking issue about Romanian labor migration is that until 2003, no institution or organization tried to approximate the number of people working abroad. The first attempt of this sort was made by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which estimated a number of 1.7 million people. In August 2004, the Department for Labor Abroad (DMS) was created within the Romanian Ministry of Labor, Social Solidarity and Family. The president of the recently established department suggests a number of around 2 million people, the majority of whom work in Italy ( appro. 1,000,000 people), Spain (500,000) and Portugal (over 50,000). A considerable number of Romanians also work in Greece, Israel, Ireland, Hungary, Germany and France.
Stages of Romanian Labor Migration
Romanian labor migration started to become a widespread phenomenon in the post-communist period. Over one third of the Romanian households (approx. 2 500 000) had at least one person working abroad after 1989. At the individual level, 12% of the people aged 18-59 worked abroad after 1989. Labor migration intensified after 2002, together with the new Schengen regulations. Nowadays (2006), labor migration is three times more intense than in 2002. For a more accurate look the labor migration patterns it is appropriate to show what differences occurred between different periods.
The first stage of labor migration was during 1990-1995. However, because it was immediately after the fall of the communist regime, when the Romanian workers were just “exploring” the Western European countries, the rate did not exceed 5‰ per annum. This first period is followed by a second one during 1996-2001, when the migration rate is 6-7‰. The third phase was delimited by the new Schengen regulations, which accelerated the process of labor migration. As an effect of the new changes, the rate of labor movement increased to 10-28.5‰ during this period.
Favorite Destinations for Romanian Migrants
During the first period, there were five favorite destinations for the Romanian workers with a rate of over 7%: Israel, Turkey, Italy, Germany and Hungary. During the period 1996-2002, the same five countries lead, but there are two more which are added to the list: Canada and Spain. During the third stage (2002-present), there is a concentration of labor migration in Italy and Spain. According to the European Citizen Action Service, 29.51% of the Romanians who work abroad prefer Italy, 22.40% want a job in Spain, while for Germany and Hungary, the rate is 13.57%, respectively 5.8%. Other destinations include: France (5.53%), Great Britain (4.61%), Austria (4.48%), Portugal (1.98%) and Ireland (1.32%).
References:
Dumitru Sandu. “Exploring Europe through Labor Migration: 1990-2006”. In Temporary Habitation Abroad: the Economic Migration of Romanians, Open Society Foundation, 2006, p. 17-25.
Monica Serban and Vlad Grigoras. External Circulatory Migration: an answer to Romania’s social issues during the transition period? The Romanian Academy, the Research Institute for the Quality of Life. Article produced within the broader theme “Perception of Social Issues and Intervention Programs in Romania”, November 2001.
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