Immediately after the revolution, male unemployment was half of female unemployment. Since the 2000s, everything has changed. There are more unemployed men than women. In the UK and in 3-4 other countries we are facing a situation where male unemployment exceeds female unemployment. But in most European countries, the opposite is true, experts say.

unemployedPhoto: snapshot-photography/T Seeliger / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

When it comes to explanations, many sociologists shrug their shoulders, saying that perhaps the large number of housewives who are not included in the International Labor Office’s definition of unemployed is to blame. It will be too.

“In the 2000s, something really important happened in the economy of Romania. The entire labor market has structurally changed. Until then, Romanian men worked in the metallurgical or mining industries, and those industries were either abolished or restructured, says researcher Catalin Gineru. “So many jobs that required mostly male labor disappeared as a result of the restructuring of the industry. These jobs have disappeared and will not appear from now on. On the other hand, many jobs appeared in the fields intended for the female population: I mean commerce, medicine, etc. In addition, we must take into account that the number of unemployed in Romania has decreased significantly over the last 20 years. People either went abroad or migrated inside and found jobs. Undoubtedly, there are relatively few unemployed people in our country. This should also be taken into account,” explains the Romanian expert.

In addition, those familiar with the European labor market say that Romania is somewhat atypical. “In Great Britain and in 3-4 other countries, we are facing a situation where unemployment among men exceeds unemployment among women. But in most European countries, the opposite is true. Everything depends on the structure of the economy. If the labor market is more open to services that are easier for women to access, there will be more unemployed men. Where industry dominates, the unemployed will be the majority among women,” said EU experts consulted by HotNews.ro.