National Employment Programme for 2027–2030 discussed with business representatives at CONSECON

Opening the meeting, Sergiu HAREA, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova and Chair of Working Group No. 6, stressed the need to involve the business community in consulting on the new National Employment Programme, so that the proposed measures address the difficulties faced by employers.

“The lack of skilled labour remains one of the most important constraints for the business community. That is why it is essential that the position of companies and the real needs of employers are reflected in the National Employment Programme 2027- 2030 from the drafting stage. We need policies that help reduce the staff shortage, better match skills with market demand and increase the employment rate”, said Sergiu HAREA.

For her part, Natalia PLUGARU, Minister of Labour and Social Protection, drew attention to an important challenge of the labour market in the Republic of Moldova: the low employment rate of the population, at a time when many employers face a staff shortage. In this context, the new National Employment Programme for 2027-2030 must help close this gap through measures that encourage the population to participate in the labour market and respond better to employers’ needs.

“We need a labour market in which people find jobs suited to their skills, with decent wages and conditions, and employers can find the staff they need. Through this programme we aim to address existing problems, increase the participation of our citizens in the labour market and create more employment opportunities, including in the regions”, said Natalia PLUGARU.

At the meeting, Stas MADAN, Programme Director at Expert-Grup, presented a labour market analysis, highlighting that the Republic of Moldova has one of the lowest employment rates in the region: 55% in 2025 for the population aged 20-64, compared with an average of 76.1% in the European Union. At the same time, the inactivity rate of the population aged 15 and over reaches 58.2%, and almost a quarter of young people aged 15–29 are neither in employment nor in any form of education or vocational training. According to the analysis, raising the employment rate to 61% by 2030 would make it possible to tap an additional potential of approximately 79 thousand people, which underlines the need for policies aimed at activating the inactive population and using the available labour force more efficiently.

These challenges highlight the need for measures that encourage the population to take part in economic activity, improve access to jobs and help better match workforce skills with employers’ requirements.

Another important topic of the meeting was the presentation of the National Employment Programme for 2027–2030, its policy priorities and the action plan for its implementation. The presentation was delivered by Felicia BECHTOLDT, State Secretary responsible for employment policies, gender equality and demography, and Mihai-Gabriel CIOBANU, State Secretary responsible for labour relations, social dialogue and social insurance, of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.

The Programme aims to increase formal employment, improve job quality and reduce exclusion from the labour market. In this context, participants discussed the proposed priorities and the measures needed to implement them, including from the perspective of the difficulties faced by employers and the employment opportunities available in different regions of the country.

The meeting included an extensive question-and-answer and discussion session, during which participants were able to make comments and recommendations on the National Employment Programme for the next four years.

The meeting is part of the series of meetings of Working Group No. 6 “Labour Market Development”, organised on the platform of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister, to discuss employment issues and consult on public policy measures with representatives of the authorities, the business community and civil society.

The activity is part of the project “Support for Labour Market Reform”, implemented by the Independent Think Tank Expert-Grup and funded by the Soros Foundation Moldova.