01.09.2022

SLIGHT INCREASE IN UNEMPLOYMENT IN BULGARIA

Eurozone unemployment fell in July to a record low of 6.6% from 6.7% in June and is well below the 7.7% unemployment rate a year earlier (in July 2021). This is the lowest unemployment rate in the eurozone since 1998 - just before the euro was launched in January 1999, according to data from the European official statistics agency Eurostat.

Within the EU, unemployment fell in July to 6% from 6.1% in June and from 6.9% in July 2021.

For Bulgaria, Eurostat data show that unemployment in July rose slightly to 4.6% from 4.5% in June, but remains far below the level of 5.1% exactly a year ago (in July 2021).

According to European statistics, a total of 12.959 million Europeans, of which 10.983 million from the euro area, were out of work in July, with a decrease of 113,000 in the EU unemployment rate compared to June and a total of 1.854 million compared to July 2021.

According to Eurostat data, in July 2022 there were 150,000 unemployed in Bulgaria - an increase from 147,000 in June, but a decrease of 15,000 from 165,000 unemployed in July 2021.

The number of unemployed youth under the age of 25 in our country is 13.1 percent, which corresponds to about 17,000 people - the maximum since February. In June, their level was 12 percent, while in July last year - 16.1 percent.

Looking at native unemployment by gender, it is noted that unemployed men were 4.9 percent of the labor force in July, while unemployed women were 4.3 percent.

Spain (12.6 percent), Greece (11.4 percent) and Cyprus (8 percent) had the highest level of unemployment in July among EU member states. At the other end of the scale, among the countries with the lowest unemployment are the Czech Republic (2.3 percent), Poland (2.6 percent), and third place is shared by Malta and Germany (2.9 percent each).