The Demographic Consequences of the Restructuring Process of Mining Industry in Romania. Case Study

regions in Central and Eastern Europe along with the political,
social and economic changes in the 1990s. For the mining industry
in Romania, this process meant the closure of mines, which resulted
in massive layoffs. In the Jiu Valley coal region, which overlaps
Petroșani Depression, which is the area chosen for this study, the
largest number of layoffs took place in 1997, when the process of
industrial restructuring started. Its effects have been felt not only at
the social, economic and environmental level but also at a
demographic level. The present study analyses two of the
demographic consequences of mining restructuring in Romania (the
changes in the structure of active population and migration), thus
emphasising how relatively recent economic changes have
influenced the demographic characteristics of the area under study.
Thus, the number of economically active persons in the mining
industry dropped by ¾ during 1992-2011. If during 1990-1997, the
migration rate remains positive in Petroșani Depression, starting
with 1997 and until the present, this becomes negative, following
the massive layoffs in mining.