Bulgaria sees higher demand than supply of jobs

Less than 100 days remain until Bulgaria joins the eurozone, and this is another reason to talk about the incomes of people in Bulgaria, about the Bulgarian economy, about foreign investments and about the domestic labour market which reacts the fastest to socio-economic changes, even before they have actually happened.

Nothing unexpected will happen to the salary of working Bulgarians from January 1 next year, it will appear in the same nominal value, but converted into euros, so from this point of view there will be no changes - say intermediaries between employers and job seekers. Yes, everyone admits that in Bulgaria incomes are among the lowest in the EU, but Bulgaria is also distinguished by the highest rate of wage growth and income increase in the previous 5-6 years.

From January 1, 2026, there will be an adjustment to the minimum wage, which will also affect many other social payments - the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy proposes that it become 1,213 leva, i.e. 620.20 euros. "There is also an EU directive linking the minimum wage to the average wage, which Bulgaria must adhere to, and this is the way the state can also try to stimulate income growth," says Georgi Parvanov, manager of one of the leading HR companies in the country and Eastern Europe:

"Such increases are starting to worry investors and there is an outflow of investors coming to Bulgaria," the specialist warnс in an interview with Radio Bulgaria. "Especially in some sectors where a very large number of workers are required and, accordingly, raising wages there makes them uncompetitive. Such are the production of cables in the automotive industry, the textile industry. I think we have reached the threshold in terms of outsourcing, and there will be an outflow there. Here it is important that labour productivity goes in parallel with the growth of wages."

The minimum wage in relation to GDP per capita in Bulgaria is the highest in the entire EU and this has been happening for a long time, economist Vasil Velev from the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria commented to the Bulgarian National Radio. He added that over the past 3 years the minimum wage has increased by 55%, against the backdrop of GDP growth of 10% and productivity growth of only 5%.

"The minimum wage in Bulgaria has far outpaced the economy, and therefore this erroneous formula in the Code must be repealed. The minimum wage in Bulgaria should not be something to strive for, it should be taken by a maximum of 5-6% of workers. Only by those who have no qualifications, no work habits."

According to data from national employment offices, there is currently an obvious decline in open positions. For the first time in a long time, open job vacancies have fallen below 10 thousand, which is quite small for a market like ours, says Georgi Parvanov. He emphasizes that we are now entering a not-so-easy phase in the labour market with a number of challenges there that will affect the fall and winter.

"At the same time, there is a large number of people who have registered on the largest social media for job search, and among them the number of those returning from abroad is also growing," says Parvanov:

"The picture is contradictory, the main demand is for low-skilled workers, operators and all kinds of technical specialties and medical personnel. We are entering the new school year with a deficit of several thousand teachers again. The new winter season will again have thousands of open jobs and we will be looking for imported personnel. At the exact opposite pole is the high segment, where there are very few open positions for executive directors, production directors and finance and marketing managers, and there are an extremely large number of candidates for such positions.

We are moving towards an extremely dynamic labour market, where people of different ages will constantly have to acquire new qualifications, learn new professions and literally learn throughout their lives. My recommendation to those entering the labour market now is to focus on specialties that will not be replaced by artificial intelligence in the coming years. For example, professions related to work with people, with medicine, with agriculture, with activities that are not routine. And, proficiency in English is no longer a competitive advantage, it is taken for granted in the labour market."

Currently, there is a great hunger for workers in agriculture, construction, and the hotel industry. The good news is that there is recently a boom in Bulgarians returning from abroad. Tens of thousands are in the process of returning to Bulgaria, notes Georgi Parvanov and more:

"We alone receive 30 job applications per day from Bulgarians who are returning from abroad. We literally cannot process everything. But there is also a very interesting statistic that the Employment Agency shared, and that is that last year over 10 thousand Bulgarian citizens over 65 years of age sought full-time work. This is a large number for Bulgaria, and this figure will continue to increase.

This retention of people over 55 years of age on the labour market for a longer period is part of an overall trend of change. There are many reasons, including high inflation and insufficient pensions, as well as the fact that these people are dynamic and do not feel outdated and tired. We are about to see such people enroll in higher education and start their own businesses at the age of 60 and 70. In general, we are about to witness a huge change, and it is not only in Bulgaria, but on a global scale. There is a boom in the whole world of the so-called "silver entrepreneurship" and a growth in newly registered startups by people over 50 years of age."

Photos: BTA, cteambulgaria.com, BGNES, Sofia Airport, pixabay

English publication: R. Petkova

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Bulgaria sees higher demand than supply of jobs

There is a boom in Bulgarians returning from abroad, says HR specialist Georgi Parvanov

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