The year 2008 marks a turning point in the evolution of labour migration and remittances in
Moldova. Since the late 1990s, the number of Moldovan migrants abroad and the inflow of
remittances had grown consistently year after year. As a result, household disposable incomes
as well as demand for locally produced goods and services had increased rapidly. Since its
peak in the fourth quarter of 2007, the number of migrants estimated by the Labour Force
Survey (LFS) has not increased further. Remittances measured in terms of nominal US dollars
also appear to be levelling off since the fourth quarter of 2008; measured in terms of their
purchasing power in Moldovan Lei, remittances have probably even declined in 2008. For the
first time in many years, the Moldovan economy and the policy community now face the
prospect of stagnating or even declining labour migration and remittances, with potentially
far-reaching effects on Moldovan household incomes and demand for non-tradable products
and services.