Romania's best cities to work in

Employees and human resources specialists have decided that Bucharest, Timisoara, Cluj, Brasov and Sibiu are the best cities to work in, an analysis conducted by ZF reveals. The cities were chosen due to the level of salaries, and investments operated. Whereas opinions were unanimous for the top 2 positions (Bucharest and Timisoara), Iasi, Sibiu and Brasov “battled” for the following two positions in the ranking. Constanta, the second-largest city after Bucharest, did not make the top 5, with respondents saying it will be several years before it becomes an attractive city to work in. Bucharest’s main advantage is the high salaries, which exceed wages in the provinces by at least 30%. According to the National Statistics Institute (INS), the average gross salary in Bucharest was above 1,900 RON (520 euros) last year, up 500 RON (135 euros) against the gross average salary outside the capital. Moreover, Bucharest has the highest shortage of personnel, with unemployment standing at 1.8% at the end of last year. If salaries were not considered, Bucharest would fall to the fifth place, mainly due to the infrastructure and the high price of rent. “If I were to choose a city to work in, I would opt for the Western part of the country, i.e. Timisoara, Cluj or Arad. Even though the wages are higher in Bucharest, the city is very crowded,” explained Paul Pacuraru (photo), Minister of Labour.