Unemployment in Bulgaria marked a record low, while at the same time economists report high employment for 2017.
Every second Bulgarian in working age worked in 2017. More than 3 million and 225 thousand people were employed in the third quarter of the year.
Economists say the reason is the growth of the economy by nearly 4%.
Olga Chugunska from the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry says that over the past 12 months, there was a revival of the economy and companies are employing more and more people. That is how the number of unemployed people is decreasing, she said.
However, the regional imbalance continues, as new jobs are concentrated in large cities.
Petar Ganev, economist says that about 70% of the new jobs were created in Sofia, Plovdiv and Stara Zagora, with the record being in Plovdiv – 48,000 jobs from 170.
According to the analysis of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the highest number of jobless is among the people with secondary education, reaching almost 100,000 people.
Over 65,000 people with primary or basic education are unemployed. The smallest number of unemployed is among the people with higher education - less than 35,000 people.
Olga Chugunska says there is a strong demand for specialties in the IT sector and the outsourcing industry. There are vacancies for construction workers and international drivers in the field of transport. Demand is mainly in these professions as well as in the field of tourism.
Additionally, there are nearly 200,000 people on the labour market who are not unemployed but can support business needs.