Companies prefer “mature employees, with rates and children”. The Romanian young people, in the top of the European unemployment: “We do not want to be slaves on plantation”

The unemployment rate among young people in Romania reached 23.9%, exceeding ten percent of the average of the European Union. While employers say they prefer more mature, experienced candidates and responsibilities, young people accuse low salaries, lack of chance and incorrect treatment.

The young people in Romania complain about the working conditions. Photo: Shutterstock

Unemployment in Romania among young people is approaching 23.9%, with 10 percent above the European average. A news showing that employers prefer mature employees, because “they are more consistent, they have rates and children, they do not change their jobs frequently”, it was intensely commented on the Reddit platform. This is although an HR specialist explained that one of the mistakes that young people make is to apply for all the positions that think they fit them, which would ultimately disadvantage them that they seem undecided.

Frustration of young people: “We do not want to be slaves on low salaries”

Reactions have not been delayed to appear in the online environment. “So I have to have children and children to be taken seriously? In other words, I must become the slave of the bank and the slave of the patron. No, thank you ””wrote a user on Reddit.

Another young man told personal experience: “I changed four jobs up to 23. I worked for a month in black because the employer was going on vacation and he could not sign the contract, and another time I was expelled because some of my colleagues do not like my attitude. This is the reality.”

Dissatisfaction is linked especially by the level of wages. “Employers are looking for stability, but they do not offer salaries to ensure stability. The minimum wage increases are not put on. We want salaries to cover the basic needs and a few small joys. We ask too much?”, commented on another user.

“I mean, most likely, companies see that if we have more opportunities, it is better not risk to hire us because we could leave them for a better opportunity at any time, especially if we have nothing to lose,” a young man wrote.

“If you are not desperate, you do not agree with the working conditions in Romania and Patronache is weird ”, says someone else.

“So you have to be a slave, briefly. I have to make a rate, become the slave of the bank, and then commit myself to be the slave of the Romanian patronage jegos and with the gossip. No, thank you ”, says another commentator.

“I was going to say that. That is looking for. A “slave”. When I entered the field of work, my colleagues, most of them 40+, did not comment on any bad treatment. They were working on the unpaid weekends. “We have rates, we have children,” I heard when I drew their attention. In the summer I had come to work from 8 to 8 “says someone else.

“Bags as possible, to be motivated to work more and more!”

The vicious circle of “lack of experience”

Many young people point out that they are facing an impossible situation: to be employed you have to have experience, but to gain experience you must first be employed. “How do I experience if no one hires me because I have no experience?”a graduate is rhetorically.

Another adds: “In the faculty you do not learn how work in reality is. Job Descripts are irrelevant if you do not practice. The role of HR should be to call you and find out with you what post suits you.”

“I like how they, practically, through this report I admit that I flit with young people and prefer to hire only desperate or experienced people ”, support another commentator.

Critics also came to the institutions that should support the integration of young people into the labor market. “ANOFM, with hundreds of employees and dozens of county agencies, managed in six months to qualify only 600 people between 16 and 24.wrote a user.

Conclusion: Between stability and real chances

In the second quarter 2025, the active population of Romania was 8.22 million people, of which 7.73 million were occupied and almost 490,000 unemployed, according to INS.

“In the second quarter of 2025, the employment rate of the population aged 20-64 was 69.3%, increasing to the previous quarter. In the second quarter 2025, the active population of Romania was 8,222,800 people, of which 733,000 people were occupied and 489,800 people were unemployed”, Shows the NIS data.

The employment rate of the working population (15-64 years) was in the second quarter of 2025, of 63.3%, increasing by 0.6 percentage points compared to the first quarter 2025.

In age groups, the unemployment rate reached the highest level (23.9%) among young people (15-24 years).

At the EU level, Romania is in 3rd place in terms of unemployment.

While employers demand “stability” and “consistency”, young people complain about insufficient salaries and few opportunities. “We don't want to be slaves on plantation. We want decent salaries and respect ”, synthesizes a participant in the debate.