One in three Romanians is considering taking on additional work to make extra income at the beginning of 2026, in the context of rising taxes, rising food and utility prices and pressures on family budgets, according to data released by a recruitment platform, which indicates an accelerated increase in demand for casual work and flexible activities.

'In 2026, the beginning of the year is marked by calculations and worries: higher bills, more expensive basic foods, worries about bank loans, additional expenses for children, and for seniors, medical costs that are increasingly difficult to anticipate and bear,' the study conducted by the DeLucru.ro platform states.

In this context, casual work - in retail, cleaning, constructions, repairs or rural households - is no longer a 'breakdown' solution, but a normality for more and more categories of Romanians, the same source specifies.

'On DeLucru.ro we have 235% more new users, 219% more active users, 111 new ads/day (a 382% increase), and the registration rate is 256% higher. We also noticed that there were over 15,000 page views in a week and an average session duration of approximately 3 minutes. Romanians were on vacation or leave, but they were worried about what was coming in 2026. At the same time, beyond digital dynamics, the picture describes a change in behaviour: the labour market is fragmenting into short projects, overtime and one-off collaborations, and people are diversifying their sources of income with the same logic with which companies diversify their portfolios, so as to escape the worries of tomorrow,' said Gili Boruz, the platform's founder, quoted in the press release.

The main social categories that show interest in additional income are unskilled young people (16-25 years old), who represent 21% of the total. 'They are looking for work to earn pocket money, but also to gain experience,' the press release states.

Another category is active retirees, over 60 years old, with a share of 19%. 'They are looking for flexible, predictable activities close to home: small repairs, yard/garden care, supervision, cleaning, transport.' the document also states.

On the other hand, employees looking for additional work between the ages of 25 and 55 represent 22% of the total. These are 'people with stable jobs who also work in their free time: cleaning, maid/housekeeping, finishing work, plumber, electrician, welder, household work, agriculture, carpentry, short projects in retail or services'.

Another category mentioned is mothers who work from home, aged between 20 and 45 (18%). 'They are looking for remote projects and activities that will round out their income, but that will allow them to continue taking care of children and household chores,' the same press release reads.

Among the concerns of Romanians and the reasons why they are looking for work are: increasing taxes and fees for 71% of them, fear of losing their jobs/decreasing income (64%), the feeling that they will not have money for everyday expenses and food: 59%, and for retirees, the fear that they will not have enough money for medicine (53%).

The data integrated in this analysis are collected from the platform, and a questionnaire was additionally administered.

DeLucru.ro is a platform designed to support unskilled young people, Romanians in the diaspora, people who want additional income and active retirees in finding a job quickly and easily. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Nicoleta Banciulea; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)