Bulgaria's Unemployment Rate Still below 10%

Rositsa Stelyanova, head of Bulgaria's Employment Agency. Photo by Standart

Bulgaria’s unemployment rate is going to be under 10% in January 2010, according to the head of the Employment Agency, Rositsa Stelyanova.

Stelyanova made it clear that the country still has not seen the number of its unemployed go beyond the 10% threshold. A number of experts, including the Bulgarian Industrial Association, have predicted the country’s unemployment could go up to 16%, and even 20% counting the “gray economy,” by the end of 2010.

Stelyanova announced that in the first month of 2010 a total of 24 companies have declared they intended to sack 1 906 employees. Those are mostly in the fields of machine building, textile industry, administration, construction, and other kinds of processing industry.

She has announced that two programs for tackling unemployment funded under the EU Human Resources Operational Program had started on Monday.

The “Back to Work Program” pays unemployed persons to take care of children aged 1-3 of whom both parents are employed full-time. A total of BGN 64 M are allocated for this measure.

Under the “Adaptivity” program, some 42 000 people from around the country are going to get additional or new qualifications. They will be getting BGN 120 per month for the duration of four months as their training lasts.

8 353 applications have already been submitted for the training, and some 2 000 have already started. Over 4 000 employers have guaranteed that they would hire 5 000 employees once they complete their training.

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