Labor market performance and social implications in the Baltic States and Bulgaria – possible lessons for Romania

The economic and financial crisis produced a shock wave which was felt extremely violent, especially on emerging economies around the world, both within the real and the nominal economy. In this sense, labor market development, as an instrument of macroeconomic adjustment from the sphere of real economy, experienced a dramatic contraction with negative implications in all areas of economic and social life. When referring strictly to labor market developments in the Baltic countries and Bulgaria, we noticed lately a deterioration of the employment rate and a dramatic increase of unemployment rate, situation encountered in other New Member States but to a lesser extent. In this context, the authors propose an analysis of labor market developments in the Baltic countries and Bulgaria, before the onset of the crisis, with some possible lessons concerning Romania.