The elimination of tax breaks and the lack of a national strategy for education and vocational training may affect Romania's long-term attractiveness in the field of business services, according to the latest report by the Association of Business Service Leaders in Romania (ABSL), in collaboration with Deloitte Romania.
"In a dynamic global context, Romania is at risk of no longer being competitive in this industry, although ABSL estimates still show growth potential. Technology and digitalization are transforming all economies, and in many countries there are national programs that support education, research and vocational training. Companies in our industry, but also in other fields, are making efforts to compensate for the lack of a national strategy, but this is not viable in the long term," said Ciprian Dan, president of ABSL, as quoted in the release.
While Romania no longer offers incentives for industry, other Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) have attractive support programs, consisting of grants, tax breaks and training facilities. In addition, the proximity of the war in Ukraine may have a negative impact on potential investors in some cases, the authors of the study argue.
At the same time, the report highlights the current advantages of the business services industry and why its development should be a national priority.
"Over the last decade, the business services sector has been one of the pillars of Romania's economy. In 2023, this sector's contribution to GDP was the highest in the region, i.e. 10.5% if we include IT services, consistently recording the highest share in the region over the last 10 years," the study further shows.
The growth rate of the business services sector in Romania has also consistently outpaced the growth rate of the economy as a whole. This underlines the sector's major importance in Romania's economy.
"In the long term, the business services sector has seen a higher growth in the number of employees compared to the dynamics of the economy as a whole. Over the last 10 years, the industry has grown at an average rate of 14% per year, the highest in the region. These achievements have significantly strengthened the national economy, created well-paid jobs and contributed to rising living standards. There is, however, a correlation between the sustained pace of growth and the tax breaks the sector has benefited from until the end of 2023. After that date, Romania has remained the only country in the region without specific governmental measures to stimulate this sector, and the negative effects are already visible in the decrease in the number of IT employees and potential investors," said Catalin Iorgulescu, ABSL vice-president.
According to the report, the industry still has potential for growth, even if it will be slower due to the maturity of the market and high global and regional competitiveness.
Thus, ABSL has identified a number of factors that may support an upward momentum in the near future. Currently, employees in the local business services industry account for 2.5% of the total labor force, compared to the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, where the share is 3.5%.
Romania also has a large number of students, ranking second in Central and Eastern Europe after Poland, and 24 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, attractive for companies in the sector.
"Another competitive advantage is the highest percentage of French, Spanish and Italian speakers in the region. The salaries of Romanian employees in the business services sector remain competitive," the research also shows.
At the same time, Romania ranks 3-4 in terms of the total cost of employment, with the highest costs in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and, for some services, Hungary. However, this is mainly influenced by Bucharest, where most of the jobs in the sector are located, and salaries are 38% higher than the national industry average, mentions the cited source.
The study was conducted by ABSL and Deloitte between October 2024 and March 2025 and analyzed data from Eurostat, the European Commission, partners (IO Partners and Randstad), as well as information available at national statistical institutes and Deloitte analysis.
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