May 2026 painted a grim picture of Romania’s entrepreneurial landscape — total company registrations slumped to just 12,427 , marking a 3.5% decline compared to the same month last year and well below the 12-month moving average of 13,288 . But beneath the headline numbers, a dramatic sectoral upheaval is tearing through the economy.

The business ecosystem is now actively shrinking. With 14,478 companies exiting the market — via suspensions, dissolutions, or deregistrations — against only 12,427 new registrations, Romania’s business registry is in negative territory by 2,051 net companies . The health ratio sits at a dismal 0.86 , meaning for every 100 businesses that close, only 86 new ones dare to open.

🚛 TRANSPORT COLLAPSE: A Sector in Free Fall

The most shocking reversal is unfolding in Transport and Storage, the sector that was until recently the engine of new company formation. In May 2025, transport registered an astonishing 2,616 new businesses. Just one year later, that number has collapsed by nearly 33% to only 1,755 registrations .

This is not a seasonal blip. Transport had surged 115% year-over-year in May 2025 as the post-pandemic logistics boom peaked, but the bubble has now burst with alarming speed. Rising fuel costs, tightening EU regulations on transport licensing, and a flood of deregistered haulage firms point to an industry being systematically squeezed. Lifecycle data shows 8,468 total deregistrations across all sectors in May 2026 alone — a figure that remains stubbornly elevated year-over-year — and transport companies are likely overrepresented among them.

🌾 AGRICULTURE’S MIRACLE COMEBACK (Or Is It?)

If there’s one sector that appears to be roaring back, it’s Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing. Just look at the numbers: 491 new registrations in May 2026, compared to only 288 in May 2025 — a staggering 70.5% surge .

But context reveals a darker story. In May 2023, agriculture registered a whopping 2,359 new companies. By May 2024, that had crashed nearly 89% to just 263 — a cataclysmic collapse. So today’s 70% “boom” is merely bouncing off the absolute floor. It’s a dead-cat bounce in a sector that is still operating at less than a quarter of its 2023 capacity. Romanian agriculture remains deeply fractured, with EU subsidy uncertainty and drought risks looming over every new PFA or SRL filing.

🏭 MANUFACTURING: A 52% Spike That Screams Desperation

Manufacturing posted the second-highest growth rate among major sectors, with 702 registrations versus 463 last year — a 51.6% increase .

Yet here too, the numbers are misleading. Manufacturing has been in a prolonged slump since 2023, when the sector registered 566 new firms in May of that year. The apparent recovery is driven almost entirely by micro-enterprises and individual contractors (PFA registrations jumped 14.7% year-over-year, while SRL formations — the traditional backbone — cratered by 14.5%) . This suggests that instead of properly capitalized manufacturing companies, Romania is seeing a flood of desperate sole proprietorships — individual craftsmen and tradespeople incorporating out of necessity, not optimism.

💻 TECH DEFIES THE GRAVITY, BUT FOR HOW LONG?

The Information & Communications sector stands as a rare bright spot, registering 1,038 new companies — up a healthy 19.5% year-over-year . At a time when most sectors are bleeding registrations, tech continues to grow.

Even so, put this in perspective: the sector’s May 2023 peak was 957 registrations, so the current 1,038 figure means tech has genuinely surpassed its earlier levels — one of the few sectors that can say so. Cluj, the country’s tech hub, recorded 602 total registrations — the third-highest of any county — while Bucharest dominated with 2,912, nearly a quarter of the entire national tally. Yet the lifecycle data is ominous: Cluj also ranked second in the country for both deregistrations (470) and dissolutions (264) , suggesting a brutal churn where startups are dying almost as fast as they’re born.

📉 TRADE & REAL ESTATE: Two Sectors in Trouble

Wholesale and Retail Trade — traditionally the largest sector by registration volume — saw 1,789 new companies, down 18.2% from 2,186 last year . This is a worrisome sign for consumer confidence: when retail entrepreneurs stop launching new ventures, it typically signals they see shrinking margins ahead.

Even more concerning is Real Estate Transactions, which dropped a staggering 27% — from 447 registrations to just 326 . After enjoying a 66% boom in 2024-2025, the property sector is now in sharp retreat as rising interest rates and affordability crises cool the housing market.

📊 Regional Winners and Losers

The geographic picture is starkly divided. Traditional engines like Bucharest (2,912), Ilfov (828), and Cluj (602) still dominate absolute numbers. But the growth story is playing out in unexpected places.

Suceava posted a remarkable 21.2% increase to 263 registrations , while Galați jumped 18.3% to 278. The biggest “winner” was Călărași, which skyrocketed 57.4% — though from a tiny base of just 68 to 107 registrations. Buzău (+23.2%) and Bistrița-Năsăud (+27.8%) also showed surprising strength.

These smaller counties are likely benefiting from a migration of smaller agricultural and service-sector registrations as entrepreneurs in expensive hubs like Bucharest and Cluj face prohibitive costs. But with the national churn rate at a horrifying 116.5% , these isolated bright spots cannot mask the broader contraction.

THE BOTTOM LINE

May 2026 data reveals an economy in sectoral convulsion. The transport boom has busted. Agriculture’s recovery is built on sand. Manufacturing’s growth is a mirage of micro-enterprises. And while tech soldiers on, even it is eating its own young at an alarming rate.

With 14,478 businesses shutting down against 12,427 starting up, Romania is now losing companies faster than it creates them. The 12-month moving average has slipped for yet another month . If these trends continue, Romanian entrepreneurship is heading for its most brutal winter in years.