Employment in Bulgaria at a 14-year maximum

29.09.2022

EMPLOYMENT IN BULGARIA AT A 14-YEAR MAXIMUM

The employment rate among able-bodied citizens of the European Union (between 20 and 64 years of age) amounted to 74.8 percent in the second quarter of the year. This is the eighth consecutive quarter in which the indicator has increased, and compared to the previous quarter (January - March 2022) it increased by 0.3 percentage points. This is indicated by the latest data of the European statistical agency Eurostat, published today on its website.

In Bulgaria, the employment rate in the second quarter reached 75 percent of the working-age population from 20 to 64 years of age. This is the highest level of employment in our country for at least 14 years, according to available data, and in the second quarter of 2009 it was 68.6 percent.

Stagnation in the labor market

Labor market slack, which includes people with unmet employment needs, which is also one of the main components of unemployment, accounted for 11.5 percent of the extended labor force (aged 20-64) in the EU in the second quarter in 2022. This is down from 11.9 percent registered in the first quarter.

Bulgarians experiencing an unsatisfied need for employment in the second quarter of the year were 7.7 percent of the expanded labor force, which is a minimal decrease (-0.1 percent) compared to the previous quarter. This is still the eighth consecutive quarter of a decline in the indicator, after in the second quarter of 2020 it added 2.2 p.p. compared to a quarter earlier, reaching 10.6 percent.

Comparison by EU Member States

Changes in the level of employment between the first and second quarters of the year vary in the different member states of the Union. The largest increase was registered in Lithuania (+1.6 p.p.), Latvia (+0.9 p.p.), as well as Ireland and Slovakia (+0.8 p.p. each).

Although employment rose in 20 EU countries, it maintained its level in Hungary and Slovenia, and fell in Croatia and Belgium (-0.5 p.p. each) as well as in Luxembourg (-0.2 p.p.) and Cyprus and Portugal (-0.1 p.p. for each).