SOFIA, Sept 17 – Bulgaria’s jobless rate edged down to 5.6 percent in August, down from 5.7 percent in July and 6.7 in the same month last year, data from the state employment agency showed on Monday. The agency said 183,962 people were unemployed in the Balkan country of 7 million people in August, 1,872 less than a month earlier and 36,922 less than in August last year. The small decline was mainly due to an increase in seasonal jobs in processing industry and tourism. The agency, which calculates the jobless rate based on the number of officially registered unemployed, said 15,764 people found work in August. The Finance Ministry expects the unemployment rate to fall to 6.2 percent this year and drop further to 5.6 percent by 2020 as domestic demand picks up. UNEMPLOYMENT AUGUST 2018 JULY 2018 AUGUST 2017 RATE Monthly total 183,962 185,834 220,884 Pct of 5.6 5.7 6.7 workforce (Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; editing by Tsvetelia Tsolova)

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