27.05.2024

WHAT TO DO WITH THE UNEMPLOYED

Among the more interesting news was the new estimate by the Employment Agency of the total number of inactive people of working age – over 1 million people. Although a full analysis of inactivity and its characteristics by the Employment Agency is not yet available, we can highlight several directions for reforms that could help with the activation of this large group, which seems increasingly important against the background of low unemployment and the increasingly difficult finding of personnel, the economists from the Institute for Market Economy point out.

The data of the National Statistical Institute allow a relatively detailed view of people outside the labor force. Among them - a total of 1.05 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 - more than half have a secondary education, and of them - 200 thousand people have a professional, which means that they have at least the necessary base and sufficient literacy to be trained in skills relevant to the needs of the labor market. However, with another almost 450 thousand people, the education is basic and lower, which means that their activation also implies an element of additional education. The serious preponderance of women – 594 thousand people – is striking, which reflects their role in the family, raising children and household work. From the point of view of urbanization, the large number of inactive people - 713 thousand - are in the cities, where almost all new and vacant jobs are concentrated, the analysis says.

According to the Institute for Market Economy, the bad news is that among those over 1 million people, 928 thousand are unwilling to work. The main reason for this is participation in some form of education, with 423 thousand people in this category. To the extent that those currently inactive will enter the labor market in the near future, with higher or at least secondary education, special measures and approaches to them are probably not necessary. Illness or incapacity hinders 140 thousand people, and this is the group for whom the Bulgarian labor market remains extremely difficult to access. Family work and personal reasons deter 235 thousand people, more than 2/3 of them are expected to be women.

The characteristics described in this way clearly demonstrate that a unified approach to the inactive is impossible, and that activation seems almost impossible for some of them - such are, say, housewives in high-income households. However, this does not mean that there are no measures that could at least to some extent reduce inactivity and direct additional human resources to the labor market. First of all, the inactive must be found and identified, and in this direction is the register of the inactive, which contains their characteristics, peculiarities and individual needs, proposed by the Employment Agency, according to the economists.

According to them, finding involves an active approach – while the unemployed direct themselves to the employment offices, the inactive need a nudge towards additional qualifications or a job search. This will require additional effort both on the part of the employers who fail to find the workers they are looking for, and on the part of the state – for mediators, information campaigns, training. For this reason, it is appropriate to think both about transferring the focus of active labor market policies from creating subsidized employment to career guidance and training, as well as about incentives for employers willing to train workers and inactive ones.

Increasing the flexibility of the labor market is of key importance - as we have seen, a significant part of the inactive are housewives and people with disabilities. These groups can benefit most from the creation of more part-time and telecommuting opportunities that allow them to combine employment with their other life roles. For now, Bulgaria remains at the bottom of the EU in terms of advocating these work models. Working fewer hours could also lead to the activation of part of the students and pupils, who form almost half of the inactive today. As an encouraging change, we can accept the increase in the number of employment permits for persons up to the age of 18, issued by the General Labor Inspectorate in recent years.

The regional approach to activation is no less important - the profile of the inactive in different parts of the country differs, and it is possible that the employment they desire can be found elsewhere. We cannot fail to mention the failed integration of the Roma, who make up a significant part of the inactive, and face one of the most serious obstacles to finding a job in the light economy.

Finally, it is not impossible for some of today's inactives to enter the labor market without outside help. This would be a logical result of the growth of wages and the improvement of the standard of living of the workers, in the course of convergence with the average European level of economic development. The creation of more well-paid jobs is among the factors that can "by itself" generate more supply of labor for which the "right" price has not yet been reached, concluded the Institute for Market Economy.