INS: Vacancies rate drops in Q4 of 2008

Most vacancies were registered in healthcare and social security (6.23 percent) and in the public administration (5.07 percent) while the lowest rate was registered in the mining industry (0.08 percent), retail and wholesale, transport, storage and communications (0.37 percent) respectively.

According to INS, the most sought-for were intellectuals and scientists - the major group 2 (2.76 percent) and technicians, foremen and assimilated trades - the major group 3 (1.90 percent). The least sought-for jobs were judges, high officials and leaders - major group 1 (1.00 percent) and installation and machine operators, machine, equipment assemblers - major group 8 (1.07 percent).

Territorially speaking, the most vacancies were scored in the north­east (2.01 percent), followed by the west (1.78 percent), while northwestern and southeastern Romania scored the lowest rates, namely 1.02 percent and 1.17 percent respectively, in Q4, 2008.

The vacancy data are obtained from selective statistic researches with the middle month of each quarter as a reference period. The research was implemented in 2005. Starting in Q1 of 2008, the sample includes 23,000 economic and social units. The units of the budget sector, namely public administration, education, healthcare and social security are exhaustively included in the research. For the economic sector, the research includes the units numbering 4 employees and more and covering 94.95 percent of the total number of the sector's employees.The vacancies registered at the end of each month represent the number of vacant jobs to be filled immediately or immediately after, (within 3 months at the longest, after the reference month, and that are newly created during the reference month or they already have existed in the unit), INS data say.