The Relevance of the Unemployment Rate for Romania's Labor Market

摘要

The present financial and economic crisis has shaken the world economy, showing its limits and its vulnerabilities. But a crisis is also a good opportunity to think about what went wrong, and to find new opportunities, new solutions. A crisis shouldn't be wasted. In this paper, we will talk about the unemployment rate, an important indicator of the labor market, but also of a national or regional economy. We will approach this indicator for the Romanian labor market, focusing on two issues regarding the way the unemployment rate is calculated: the number of unemployed persons and the number of people able to work. We will make some simulations, calculating the unemployment rate with other figures than the official ones, figures that we consider more realistic. In the end, we will propose some modifications regarding the way the unemployment rate is calculated, in order to transform this indicator in a more relevant one for Romania's labor market.