Top salaries county by county

Employees working in Bucharest earned twice as much in 2008 as those in living in Bihor, Calarasi, and Harghita counties, where the average net salary does not exceed €240.

Among top salaries in Romania, Bucharest employees rank first, with RON 1,700 per month (€460), followed by Ilfov County, with RON 1,500 (€400), some 50 percent above the country average, according to a report by the National Prognosis Commission (CNP).

Prahova, Constanta and Cluj counties follow, with an average net salary exceeding RON 1,250 (€340). On the other hand, the lowest salaries were registered in Bihor County - RON 850 (€230), Calarasi County - RON 870 (€236), and Harghita County - RON 875 (€237).

Aside from Bucharest and Ilfov, only seven of Romania's 41 counties registered salaries above the national average, worth RON 1,200 (€325) - in Prahova, Constanta, Cluj, Sibiu, Dolj, Gorj, and Mehedinti counties. The difference between salaries in Romania's counties is explained by the ratio of companies operating in a certain county and area, and mainly by the industries located there, according to the HR Operations Manager of Lugera&Makler recruiting company, Florin Ochiana.

"Bucharest and Ilfov were always at the top. It is possible that the [counties that] follow were impacted by the current economic background," he said. He gave as examples Cluj County, where the economy was subject to a sharper slowdown than Prahova or Constanta Counties, and where the industry is focused on energy and transportation, less affected by the crisis.

Business Standard