SOCOL CRISTIAN| MARINAS MARIUS MINIMUM WAGE AS A PUBLIC POLICY INSTRUMENT – PROS AND CONS In the processing industry, the results and performance indicate positive evolutions of the gross value added, turnover and profitability, while employment expanded from 2012 to 2014, with a peak in 2013(in 2014, the number of employees declined from 2013 by a smaller margin than that of the increase from 2013 to 2014, so that the evolution from 2012 to 2014 is positive). Thus, the number of employees in the processing industry from 2012 to 2014 rose by 42,725(a significant increase occurred from 2012 to 2013, after which it declined, but remained higher in 2014 than in 2012), the gross value added expanded by 18%, the turnover by 10%, while the gross profit in 2014 was 3.5 times higher than in 2012(Figure 16). Figure 16. Results and performance in the processing industry, 2012-2014 2000000 1500000 Number of employees in the processing industry, 2012- 2014 1204279 1584309 1247004 1000000 500000 0 2012 2013 2014 Gross value added to the cost of factors for total processing industry 2012- 2014 72000 70490 - in thousand RON current prices ­70000 68000 66000 64000 61700 62000 59916 60000 58000 56000 54000 2012 2013 2014 Evolution of turnover in the total processing industry, 2012-2014 400000 - in thousand RON current prices ­300000 278708 290226 306144 2000000 2012 2013 2014 It is important to note that the processing industry accounted for 63% of the total exports in 2014 and can be considered as the main sector that produces tradables in Romania. The opinions according to which the increase of the gross minimum wage in the economy from 2012 to 2014 was abrupt and impaired Romania's external competitiveness are contradicted by the performance of the processing industry described by the indicators above. We can conclude that, overall, the companies in the Gross profit/loss of the year for total processing industry in 2012-2014 - in thousand RON current prices ­10000 9129 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 2627 2747 3000 2000 1000 0 2012 2013 2014 S ource: INSSE, 2016 processing industry neither transferred the impact of the increase in the gross minimum wage to prices, not laid off employees. In the construction sector, the performance was lower, with an expansion of employment by 5,418 persons in 2014 compared to 2012, a value added in 2014 13% higher than in 2012 and triple profitability (Figure 17). 2 4