The Influence of ICT Sector on the Romanian Labour Market in the European Context

The ICT sector, as the backbone of the fourth industrial revolution, has major implications for labour markets. Assessing its effect is crucial for the development of policies that support the labour markets, bringing many benefits for workers, organizations, the economy, and society as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the level of digitalization of the Romanian economy in the EU context, as well as the impact of the ICT sector on employment and skills. The results of the comparative analysis at the EU level show that there are significant negative gaps between Romania and the EU average, as well as between Romania and Visegrad countries, in terms of Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), the contribution of ICT sector to employment and GDP, employed ICT specialists (as % of total employment) and the impact of ICT on tasks and skills. A strong positive correlation was identified between the level of digitalization of economy and society (expressed by DESI) and the labour productivity in the EU countries. Therefore, in order to reduce these negative gaps and to create an inclusive digital economy and society, a higher level of digitalization of work is required, especially in countries (like Romania) where there is a low level of digital economy, as well as low labour productivity. At the same time, it is essential that the EU labour force develops the necessary digital skills so that workers win the race of digitalization of jobs.