19.12.2022

THE NEED FOR WORKERS AND SPECIALISTS IS NOT DECREASING

The second survey for 2022 by the Employment Agency on employers' labor needs indicates that, despite a series of crisis factors, the need for workers and specialists is not decreasing.

This is shown by the results obtained from the nationally representative survey, which covers 378,675 active enterprises in the country. And this time, the Employment Agency collects employer attitudes with the active assistance of the Employment Commissions of the 28 Regional Development Councils.

The collected data indicate that in the next 12 months the business will need 205,548 workers and specialists with skills and knowledge in various professional fields. This is up 6.1% or nearly 12,000 more than the previous year. 45,820 are the companies that say they will be looking for new staff in the next year. Compared to the survey in September - October 2021, their number decreased by 1,136 or by 2.8%.

Over the next 12 months, employers will be looking for 111,040 professionals with qualifications gained in vocational training and education. The most sought after will be: tailor, machine operator, builder, cook, woodworking operator, waiter-bartender, welder, operational accountant, food industry worker, locksmith, etc.

Bulgarian business will need another 45,954 specialists with legal capacity or higher education. Driver, teacher, nurse, and doctor continue to occupy the top spot among the most sought after by employers for specialists in occupations that require a higher education or legal qualification. Compared to the previous year, the number of graduates in demand increased by 2,244 or by 5.1%. In addition, 48,554 workers without a specialty will be needed in the various sectors of the economy in the next 12 months, and their number compared to a year earlier is nearly 7,000 more.

According to the study, in the medium term, i.e. in the next 3 to 5 years, the sought-after specialists with a higher education will be 123,284 people or 4.3% of those employed on a labor and service basis at the end of September 2022.

The most sought after specialists will be the graduates of the following majors: Pedagogy, Medicine, Economics, Informatics and Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Automation, Mechanical Engineering, Administration and Management, Communication and Computer Engineering.

In the next 3 to 5 years, Bulgarian business will also need 148,485 specialists with secondary education. The demand for specialists with secondary education will most often be in the fields of wholesale and retail trade, construction, engineering, metalworking and metallurgy, as well as accounting and taxation.

Plovdiv is the area where the largest number of workers and specialists are expected to be hired - 24,720, which is 12.0% of all the needs declared in the country.

In 16 regions, there was an increase in the stated needs of labor compared to a year earlier. The need for workers and specialists increased most significantly in the Stara Zagora region - 2.4 times. The following are the regions of Silistra – 2.2 times, Varna – 1.9 times, Kyustendil – 1.8 times. At the other extreme are the regions of Pleven, Yambol and Vidin, where the needs will almost double compared to 2021.

In the study of employers' needs, enterprises with different numbers are proportionally covered - from micro-enterprises with less than 10 employees to large enterprises with more than 250 employees. According to the economic activity, the largest share of surveyed enterprises from the "Trade, transport, hotel and restaurant" sector (37.4%), followed by the enterprises in the "Public administration, education, humanitarian healthcare" sector with 15.4% representation, and in third place is the "Industry" sector with 13.2%.

The labor force needs survey is conducted by the Employment Agency twice a year in order to collect and analyze up-to-date information on the professions, competencies, knowledge and skills of the personnel sought by employers and to plan measures to organize their professional training.

From next year, the survey will be conducted once a year. This regulates a change in the Law on Promotion of Employment from June 2022. The methodology and procedure for its implementation will be determined in the Regulations for the Implementation of the Law on Promotion of Employment, which is yet to be adopted.