FROM A COUNTRY OF EMIGRANTS TO A COUNTRY IMPORTING LABOUR

The Paradox of the Labour Market in the Republic of Moldova

The Civic Movement “Construim înCREDere!” presents a new study conducted by Ina Vîrtosu, examining the growing recruitment of foreign workers in the Republic of Moldova while the country continues to experience the emigration of its own workforce.

📊 Key findings of the study:

🔹 More than a threefold increase in work-related residence permit issuances. The number of initial issuances of documents for foreign nationals for employment purposes increased from 1,305 in 2020 to 4,063 in 2025. In the first half of 2026 alone, 3,918 such issuances were recorded.

🔹 An increasing number of employers are recruiting workers from abroad. The number of legal entities employing foreign nationals rose from 615 in 2020 to 1,050 in 2025.

🔹 The Republic of Moldova has an underutilised domestic labour potential. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, approximately 58,000 people outside the labour force expressed a desire to work in 2025, of whom more than 40,500 were available for employment.

🔹 Labour shortages do not always mean an absence of local candidates. In 2025, 1,996 vacancies were registered for drivers, while 660 unemployed individuals were registered in the same occupation.

🔹 Wages and working conditions are an important part of the problem. The study examines the application of the minimum wage threshold for migrant workers, set at MDL 8,700 in 2026, and the risk that foreign recruitment may substitute for efforts to improve remuneration.

⚖️ The study also identifies legislative gaps. The new Law No. 66/2026, which will enter into force on 1 June 2027, does not establish a mandatory substantive assessment of the availability of domestic workers before recruiting from abroad.

The study provides recommendations on assessing actual labour shortages, introducing sector-specific wage criteria, monitoring the duration of foreign workers’ residence, and encouraging the employment of Moldovan citizens.

The study’s main conclusion: recruiting foreign workers may be economically justified, but it should not become an alternative to investing in competitive wages, vocational training, and retaining the domestic workforce.

Note: Statistics on work-related documentation reflect administrative procedures and do not necessarily represent the number of distinct individuals actually employed in the country.