The ILO in Moldova

 A long recovery ahead for Moldova’s labour market 

Moldova achieved important development results over the last two decades, building on an average annual GDP growth of 4.6 per cent before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 (World Bank, 2023). Economic growth, large inflows of remittances and social transfers reduced the relative poverty in pre-pandemic times.  

However, Moldova is facing various economic and social challenges. While the economy quickly recovered in 2021 from the strong recession caused by the pandemic, growth contracted sharply in 2022 due to the energy crisis as well as a severe drought that caused output in agriculture and related industries to plummet. Moldova's GDP growth is expected to gradually rebound to 1.8 per cent in 2023, with a full recovery in 2024 (World Bank, 2023). 

As the economic growth in Moldova remains mostly jobless, key labour market trends should not be misread. The employment rate continues to be low, at 41 per cent in 2022 (ILOSTAT, 2023), with significant disparities between men (45 per cent) and women (36 per cent). The unemployment rate also remains particularly low, standing at less than 1 per cent in 2022 (ILOSTAT, 2023). In paralel, the share of employment in the informal economy is one of the highest in the Central and Eastern European region, reaching 56 per cent in 2022 (ILOSTAT, 2023).  

Since the Russian invasion in Ukraine in 2022, Moldova’s labour market is under additional pressure as a result of a compounded energy and refugee crisis. Despite these challenges and limited resources, Moldova has shown continuous efforts to host Ukrainians refugees. In 2022, the country received the largest number of Ukrainian war refugees per capita of all European countries. 

Social dialogue remains a work in progress in Moldova. Despite the presence of an institutional framework for social dialogue at different levels, employers’ organizations and trade unions are not consistently consulted on legislative and policy issues that affect them. The National Commission for Consultations and Collective Bargaining (NCCCB) is the main national social dialogue institution, but it does not necessarily meet as often as one would expect given the ambitious social and labour reform agenda of the government.   

ILO Interventions in Moldova 

The ILO has been active in Moldova since 2005 through the implementation of several Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCP). The current DWCP for the period 2021 to 24 covers the following three priority areas:  

• Inclusive and productive employment for youth; 
• Effective protection at work; 
• Improved social dialogue. 

To support these priorities, the ILO mobilized voluntary contributions of US$6.2 million as of early 2024. The related projects cover employment creation, conditions of work including formalization, the activation of women through childcare provision, the National Employment Agency and the State Labour Inspectorate. The latest addition to this technical cooperation portfolio has been a new project funded by Switzerland supporting the current DWCP, projects funded by the European Union, Lichtenstein and Austria.