Bulgaria's Unemployment Declines for 3rd Consecutive Month

Labor Minister Mladenov, EC Representation head Zlatanova, and Education Minister Ignatov opened an information campaign on employment. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria’s unemployment rate dropped down to 9.53% in May 2010, according to data made public by Labor Minister Totyu Mladenov.

According to official government statistics, after hitting a peak of 10.3% in February, the highest value since the beginning of the economic crisis at the end of 2008, the number of unemployed in Bulgaria has kept declining slightly over the last three months.

“The results of a study carried out recently by the State Employment Agency show that the crisis is disappearing. The study shows that 53% of the employers in Bulgaria are planning to hire between 1 and 6 new workers over the next year,” Mladenov declared.

He also revealed that the employers’ organizations and the syndicates were proposing an increase of the gross minimum wage in Bulgaria from BGN 240 to BGN 270 starting July 1, 2010.

According to the new mechanism for determining the minimum wage suggested by the syndicates, the minimum monthly payment must be above the poverty line, which is estimated at BGN 250. The trade unions initially proposed a minimum wage of BGN 290.

“The increase of the minimum salary is connected with a lot of social payments and benefits. Since the state budget cannot afford those in a time of crisis, the increase might be done in a way that does not require such additional payments,” explained the Labor Minister.

However, he has praised the newly emerging practice in Bulgaria to determine the minimum wage in discussion with branch organizations defending the collective labor contracts of the workers.

Together with the Education Minister Sergey Ignatov and head of the EC Representation in Sofia, Zinaida Zlatanova, Mladenov opened Tuesday in Sofia an information campaign on employment conducted by the European Commission.

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