Romania has 29,723 vacancies registered with Agenția Națională pentru Ocuparea Forței de Muncă (ANOFM) as of July 2026. That is down from 30,142 on 15 July and 30,426 on 8 July, but the more useful information is buried inside that total: the occupations employers keep advertising.
The list is heavily concentrated in transport, logistics, retail, construction, manufacturing and other operational roles. That tells us something about the kind of labour Romanian companies need right now, and also about where recruitment pressure is likely to remain highest.
The 20 most advertised occupations are not simply a list of jobs with the biggest numbers. Taken together, they show what businesses are actually trying to keep staffed.
The 20 Jobs Employers Are Advertising Most in Romania
Based on the latest ANOFM vacancy data available in July the leading occupations include:
| Rank | Occupation | Vacancies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Road transport drivers | 2,590 |
| 2 | Couriers | 2,002 |
| 3 | Commercial workers | 1,584 |
| 4 | Warehouse handlers | 1,510 |
| 5 | Construction workers | 1,259 |
| 6 | Workers assembling and mounting parts | 1,032 |
| 7 | Security guards | 1,000+ |
| 8 | Kitchen workers | 900+ |
| 9 | Waiters | 800+ |
| 10 | Manufacturing workers | 700+ |
| 11 | Construction labourers | 700+ |
| 12 | Cleaners | 600+ |
| 13 | Machine operators | 600+ |
| 14 | Welders | 500+ |
| 15 | Sales representatives | 500+ |
| 16 | Electricians | 500+ |
| 17 | Mechanics | 400+ |
| 18 | Bakers | 400+ |
| 19 | Cooks | 400+ |
| 20 | Industrial production workers | 400+ |
What the Vacancy List Is Really Telling Us
The first striking thing is how much of Romanian hiring is tied to keeping physical operations moving.
Drivers and couriers sit at the top. Warehouse workers follow. Commercial workers are also heavily represented. Then come construction and manufacturing roles.
That combination points towards an economy that still needs people to move goods, handle goods, sell goods and physically produce things.
It also explains why the national vacancy figure can remain close to 30,000 even when hiring momentum appears to be cooling.
Companies may be opening fewer new positions, but they still need people for the operations they already run.
Also read:Romania Lost 4,000 Vacancies in Three Weeks. Is Hiring Slowing?
Transport Is Carrying a Large Share of Demand
Drivers and couriers are particularly important.
The latest detailed ANOFM data recorded 2,590 road transport driver vacancies and 2,002 courier vacancies on 15 July. Together, those two occupations represented more than 4,500 vacancies.
That is a sizeable recruitment requirement from just two occupations.
It also creates a different kind of problem from hiring an office-based professional.
A logistics company cannot easily solve a driver shortage by increasing remote-work flexibility. The job requires someone to be physically present, licensed and able to operate within the company’s delivery network.
For employers in this segment, recruitment and retention are therefore closely connected. If turnover is high, the company is effectively recruiting for the same operational capacity repeatedly.
Construction Has Not Disappeared From the List
Construction continues to feature prominently too.
ANOFM recorded 1,259 vacancies for unqualified workers in demolition, masonry and related construction activities on 15 July.
This is one reason it would be premature to interpret lower national vacancy numbers as a broad collapse in hiring.
Construction companies still need people.
The more interesting issue is whether they can find them quickly enough.
For employers working on projects with fixed deadlines, an unfilled position can have consequences beyond the recruitment department. Missing workers can affect shifts, project schedules and the amount of work a company can take on.
Manufacturing Is Asking for People at Several Levels
Manufacturing produces another recurring pattern in the ANOFM data.
The agency recorded 1,032 vacancies for unqualified workers assembling and mounting parts on 15 July.
But this type of vacancy should not be viewed in isolation.
Factories also need machine operators, welders, mechanics, electricians, technicians and engineers.
That creates a ladder of recruitment requirements. A company expanding production may need more people on the line while simultaneously needing skilled workers who can operate, maintain and improve the equipment.
The result is a labour market where the biggest vacancy numbers may sit at the entry-level end while some of the hardest positions to fill are higher up the technical ladder.
The Numbers Also Show Where Employers Can Find People More Easily
There is an important qualification in the data.
On 15 July, ANOFM recorded 14,775 vacancies for people with no formal qualification or only primary/lower-secondary education. Another 6,947 were aimed at people with vocational education, while 6,327 were for people with high-school or post-secondary education. Only 2,093 were aimed at people with higher education.
So the Romanian vacancy market is heavily weighted towards jobs that do not require university qualifications.
That does not mean those jobs are necessarily easy to fill.
A company can have a vacancy that requires no formal qualification and still struggle to find someone willing to accept the location, shift pattern, pay or working conditions.
The qualification requirement tells us about the formal entry barrier. It does not tell us how attractive the job is to candidates.
Also read: Is Europe Good for Software Engineers?
Jobs in Romania: Part Employers Should Watch
The most advertised jobs are not necessarily the jobs where recruitment is most difficult.
A vacancy count measures demand being reported by employers.
It does not measure how many suitable candidates exist, how many applications arrive, how long vacancies remain open or how many offers are rejected.
That distinction is especially important when comparing drivers with engineers, warehouse workers with technicians or construction labourers with specialised production professionals.
Two occupations can have 1,000 vacancies and completely different recruitment problems.
One might have a large pool of potential candidates but high turnover.
Another might have a much smaller pool of qualified people and intense competition between employers.
Final Thoughts
ANOFM’s national vacancy count has already moved from more than 35,000 in May to 29,723 on 12 August.
That is a meaningful change, but the composition of demand matters more than the headline decline.
Romanian employers are still advertising heavily for people who keep transport networks moving, warehouses operating, construction projects staffed, shops running and factories producing.
For recruiters, that means the market is becoming less about the sheer number of vacancies and more about understanding which vacancies keep coming back, which ones are filled quickly and which ones remain difficult despite repeated recruitment efforts.
That is the information that can tell employers whether they have a simple hiring problem or a deeper workforce problem.
