14.01.2021
BGN 83 million from the budget goes to fight unemployment
BGN 83 million from the state budget of the Republic of Bulgaria will be set aside for active labor market policy this year.
The funds are BGN 10 million more than last year, and the National Action Plan for Employment has been approved by the social partners.
The plan envisages an increase in the salaries of the unemployed included in the various programs and trainings. The plan is to be approved by the Council of Ministers.
It is expected that in 2021, in the absence of a sharp deterioration of the economic situation, employment will be provided with funds from the state budget to 14,495 unemployed and training to 11,599.
In connection with the increase in the minimum wage from January 1 this year, the amount of subsidized wages of unemployed persons included in the programs is also increased - BGN 650 for full-time work.
The National Employment Action Plan envisages an increase in the remuneration of young people included in the Career Start program - from BGN 700 to BGN 800, to youth mediators from municipalities - from BGN 730 to BGN 830, to Roma mediators with secondary education - from BGN 650 to BGN 750, and for those with higher education - from BGN 700 to BGN 800 under the Activation of Inactive Persons program. The funds for a mentor are also increased from BGN 180 to BGN 200.
In order to promote the territorial mobility of the unemployed, the money for transport costs for presentation to an employer is increased - they are up to 20% of the salary for subsidized employment and increase from BGN 122 to BGN 130.
14.01.2021
A tangible leap of Roma youth who have graduated from school
Twice as many Roma children finish school, the number of those with secondary and higher education increases. These are the main conclusions of a sociological survey on the education and realization of the Roma community in the last ten years. According to Minister of Education Krasimir Valchev, Roma children are already dropping out of school at a later stage.
In 2019, 43% of Roma have primary education against 36% in 2011. The percentage of those with secondary education has also increased from 13 to 22. And graduates are already 2.6% against 0.4 ten years ago. For 21-25 year olds, this percentage even jumps to 5.4. This is according to a study by Global Metrics, commissioned by the Trust for Social Alternative.
In 10 years, the share of Roma children attending school has increased in all age groups - 95% of children between the ages of 7 and 10 go to school.
The share of Roma graduates is twice as high among those who have attended kindergarten or attending kindergarten increases their chances of completing higher education by about 35 percent.
Employment among Roma attending kindergarten is 40% higher, and their income is 30% higher than the income of those who have not attended kindergarten.
The last decade has seen a decline in the unemployment rate and an increase in the employment rate among the Roma community. Employment among Roma over the age of 15 increased from 19% in 2011 to 45% in 2019.
According to the Minister of Education Krassimir Valchev, there is a process of modernization of the Roma community, more Roma study and work. For the three years since the operation of the coverage mechanism, the coverage of Roma children in school has increased by an average of 2.5 percent. There is already a later dropout from our education system.
According to the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Denitsa Sacheva, the share of Roma returned to school is increasing, to 40,000 children. Unfortunately, at the moment, the Covid crisis has "paused" the process of including Roma children.
14.01.2021
"EMPLOYMENT FOR YOU" EXTENDS THE RANGE OF EMPLOYERS WHO CAN APPLY FOR VACANCIES
The Employment Agency informs all employers about accepted changes in the project BG05M9OP001-1.106 "Employment for you", which are expressed in the following:
The method for determining the maximum number of requested jobs for which the employer can apply is changed - compared to the list of staff for 2020 for the month corresponding to the month of submission of the application:
For employers established after 01 January 2020, the number of vacancies requested shall be calculated in relation to the list of staff for the month preceding the month in which the application was submitted. In case the employer is established in the month of submitting the application, it is allowed to hire up to 4 people.
All employers who were inadmissible due to the impossibility to prove the list of staff can benefit from the creation of new vacancies according to the new method for determining the list of staff.
The term of the project is extended until 31.12.2022.
Employers wishing to apply for the project should be familiar with all eligibility conditions.
Documents for participation in the project "Employment for you" can be found HERE.
13.01.2021
Drastic growth of new unemployed after the New Year
Drastic growth of the registered unemployed in the first working week of the New Year, reported by the National Statistical Institute.
The data show that from the fourth to the 10th of January there are 15,700 people registered in the labor offices, and the number of people who started working in the same period is five times less - only 3300 people.
For comparison, in the week between December 28 and January 3, the new unemployed are 1,600 people, the same number are employed through employment offices.
Specialized monitoring of the labor market due to the pandemic has been carried out since February 3, 2020. During this time, the newly registered unemployed in the whole country are just under 397,000 people, and the employed 240 thousand.
For the week of January 4-10, the new unemployed are the most in Plovdiv district - a little over a thousand people, followed by Varna and Blagoevgrad, respectively with 960 and 882 newly registered.
Meanwhile, the Employment Agency informed that employers can apply until January 15 to receive funds under the current design of measure 60/40, which was extended by the government until March 31, 2021.
13.01.2021
At the online forum "Career in Bulgaria": The flat tax on income and long motherhood among the advantages of working in our country
More than 1,500 people and more than 200 employers offering more than 1,070 vacancies have registered to participate in the online forum "Career in Bulgaria", organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Employment Agency.
Hundreds of vacancies were announced at the online forum "Career in Bulgaria", organized by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Employment Agency.
Vacancies are the most diverse - from seamstresses to IT specialists for different cities in the country. The idea is for them to apply, including Bulgarians who live abroad and would like to be realized in Bulgaria in a pandemic.
The event was held through the European Labor Days platform, provided to us for use by the European Commission.
During the event, 145 interviews were conducted between employers and registered participants, and another 51 were agreed.
Jobs have been published by many different employers - from those on a global scale who hire employees for their offices in Bulgaria, to smaller companies looking for people in different localities.
"The sectors for which employees are sought are also extremely diverse: office positions, financial services, various positions in which foreign language proficiency is leading and, of course, positions for IT professionals," said the head of the European Employment Network department "Еures" in the Employment Agency Gabriela Dimcheva.
Employers had the opportunity to present their companies and apply for vacancies.
Participants had the opportunity to make direct contact with employers to find out about the jobs they offer, as well as to apply for job advertisements.
Atanaska Todorova, the chief labor market expert at CITUB, describes such forums as a step forward.
The flat tax of 10 percent on income and the long maternity leave of 410 days are among the strengths of Bulgaria, said in his presentation at the online forum Deputy Minister Lazar Lazarov.
He also made a comparison with the transport costs, which in his words in our country are lower than in other countries, as well as the fees for kindergartens. In our country this fee is BGN 60 per month, and the children's kitchen is BGN 1.30 per day.
In London, a part-time babysitter per week, including insurance, is between £ 250 and £ 400, and a nursery up to 25 hours a week is £ 131 a week.
Last but not least are the comparisons in pay. Lazarov gave an example with a comparison of the income of employees in the IT sector after deducting basic expenses between Bulgaria and the United Kingdom. The average gross salary in this sector in our country is 3969 leva, and in Great Britain - 3423 pounds, and the net values with reported social security contributions and income tax are 3072 leva and 2622 pounds, respectively. The bills also include a deduction from the average rent for a one-room apartment for Bulgaria of BGN 500, for Great Britain - BGN 620. The monthly transport card is also deducted - BGN 50 and £ 138, respectively.
In the end, the rest of the salary in our country is BGN 2,522 or 65 percent of the gross salary, and in Great Britain it is 1,864 pounds or 54 percent of the gross salary, Lazarov explained.
13.01.2021
Another BGN 40 million have been provided by OPHRD 2014-2020 for compensations for maintaining employment in tourism and transport
The Government agreed that the Managing Authority of the Operational Program "Human Resources Development" 2014-2020 to conclude contracts for grants of up to 1.76% above the budget of the Operational Program in order to provide additional funds for financing the measures to combat the effects of the coronavirus.
This will provide an additional financial resource of BGN 40 million. It will be directed to the procedure "Short-term employment support in response to the pandemic of COVID-19" with a specific beneficiary Employment Agency, under which employers, self-employed and municipal еnterprises from the hotel and restaurant industry, transport and tourism can receive compensations for maintaining the employment of their employees in the amount of BGN 290 per month.
The additional BGN 40 million will be able to secure the applications of employers and the self-insured for receiving these funds, and the period for accepting applications for payment of compensations will be extended until 31.03.2021.
13.01.2021
The state will pay fees to students who have a contract with an employer for internships and jobs
The state will pay in full or in part the fees of students who have a contract with an employer to provide an internship in the relevant specialty for the period of study and in the workplace after its successful completion. This provides for an ordinance approved by the government, which regulates the conditions for concluding contracts and the method of financing student education.
Annually, the Minister of Education and Science will approve a list of specialties for the training in which funds are provided from the state budget under this Ordinance. The list will be prepared by higher schools, forms of education and number of students for whom full or partial payment of tuition fees is provided. The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministers through the Minister of Education and Science, will adopt a list of employers registered in the territory of the country, who have the right to conclude contracts with the students by the order of the Ordinance. This list will also indicate the specialties and the number of students for whom the employer has declared readiness to sign a contract. Students who have signed a contract will not pay fees for the time of their studies at the university, and at the same time will have experience with the employer. in his specialty. Upon successful completion, the same students will continue to work for their employer for a minimum of 5 years, during which they will receive remuneration of not less than the average basic salary in the company.
The ordinance is adopted in implementation of the approved amendments to the Higher Education Act, as the main goal is to implement a mechanism for optimizing the relationship between higher education and the needs of the economy and society by stimulating training in important specialties where there is a shortage of highly qualified personnel.
13.01.2021
Who can get interest-free loans because of the crisis
The Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) has approved loans for over BGN 268 million under the two government anti-crisis programs it manages. The funds supported 26,221 individuals and provided an opportunity to finance more than 1,200 companies.
The value of the confirmed loans for small and medium-sized companies is a little over BGN 158 million. The most serious interest is from the sectors of trade and tourism, production and transport. Among the supported are also companies in the field of construction, agriculture, services and advertising.
After the implementation of the new parameters, which were approved by the EC at the end of November last year, in the work of commercial banks BDB now guarantees loans of up to BGN 1 million for small and medium enterprises and up to BGN 2 million for large companies which suffer negative consequences from the pandemic. Loans are granted by 9 partner banks with reduced collateral requirements, reduced interest rates and the possibility of a grace period of up to 3 years.
Partner banks can include both new and existing loans in the program. The condition is that the companies experience difficulties in 2020 and have not been overdue for more than 90 days in the last year.
The financial institutions granting the loans are Allianz Bank, DSK Bank, Bulgarian-American Credit Bank, Investbank, First Investment Bank, Postbank, D Commercial Bank, UniCredit Bulbank and UBB.
More than 40,000 individuals have applied for interest-free loans, according to commercial banks, and just over 1,240 are currently being considered. The total value of the approved loans is over BGN 110 million, and the average amount is BGN 4,229.
Following changes in the program for interest-free lending to individuals, BDB now guarantees loans up to BGN 6,900, instead of up to BGN 4,500, as previously planned. The adopted changes provide an opportunity for lending to citizens who have been on unpaid leave due to the pandemic, and in the current period of restrictive anti-epidemic measures imposed are unemployed.
Applicants may be employees who have been on forced unpaid leave or self-employed persons whose activities have been temporarily suspended due to the emergency situation. The maximum repayment period is 5 years, with a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 24 months grace period. The loans are exempt from fees, commissions and penalties.
The partners in the program are 12 commercial banks, 10 of which continue to accept applications for interest-free loans. These are Allianz Bank Bulgaria, DSK Bank, Investbank, First Investment Bank, D Commercial Bank, UniCredit Bulbank, United Bulgarian Bank, Eurobank Bulgaria, Raiffeisenbank and Central Cooperative Bank. With them, BDB concluded guarantee agreements for just under BGN 160 million.
The application period for both programs has been extended until June 2021.
12.01.2021
The deadline for applying for the third design of the measure 60/40 expires
It affects employers wishing to receive funds for the period before January 1, 2021.
Employers who wish to receive funds for the period before 01.01.2021 and meet the conditions of the Council of Ministers Decree № 151/03.07.2020, as amended and ext. with CMD № 278/12.10.2020 (the third design of the measure 60/40), may submit an application and the documents required to it by 17:00 on January 15, 2021, announced by the Employment Agency.
This is regulated in the Council of Ministers Decree № 416 published on Friday to extend the application of measure 60/40 until the end of March 2021.
Employers who have not complied with the deadline and have submitted applications under CMD № 151/2020, as amended and ext. with CMD № 278/2020 after 15.12.2020, can apply again until January 15, 2021, attaching to their application new documents proving a decrease in revenues already for December 2020 and for a comparable previous month or period according to the regulation of the measure.
To the already approved employers under the third design of measure 60/40, the Employment Agency reminds that the payment is made on the basis of a submitted current list of employees for the previous month and a Letter - statement for monthly reporting. The deadline for submission of these documents is January 29, 2021. The specified deadlines for acceptance of application documents and for submission of monthly reporting documents for the previous period are determined in accordance with CMD № 416/30.12.2020 in Transitional and Final Provisions and by Order of the Executive Director of the Employment Agency, according to Art. 4, para 1 and art. 5, para 1 of the Council of Ministers Decree № 151/2020.
The Employment Agency draws attention to the fact that employers must comply with the set deadlines for application (15.01.2021) and for monthly reporting (29.01.2021), as the documents submitted after these dates are not subject to verification and evaluation by the commissions in employment offices.
The Agency recommends both applicants and already approved employers to submit a strict check for completeness and correctness of the data contained in the documents before submitting in order to avoid their repeated request, which is a prerequisite for extending the processing and evaluation period.
Full and detailed information, as well as supporting materials, are published on the website of the Employment Agency in the section "Financial incentives for maintaining employment", where the new application documents for measure 60/40 for the current fourth period will be published - from 1 January to March 31, 2021.
12.01.2021
MLSP and the Employment Agency organize an online forum "Career in Bulgaria"
The online forum "Career in Bulgaria" is organized today by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Employment Agency.
The event will be held through the platform of the European Commission "European Labor Days". Registration for participants and employers is now open and completely free. Both people from the country and our compatriots abroad can look for work.
More than 1,400 jobseekers from Bulgaria and abroad have already registered to take part in the forum, which started at 11 am, told Gabriela Dimcheva, head of the European Employment Network's Еures department at the Employment Agency.
"Because there are more than 360 job vacancies with more than 800 positions on them. These jobs have been published by many different employers. From employers globally, who hire employees for their offices in Bulgaria, to smaller companies looking for people in different settlements," she said.
"The sectors for which employees are sought are also extremely diverse: office positions, financial services, various positions in which foreign language proficiency is leading and, of course, positions for IT specialists," Dimcheva added.
The representatives of the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Agency will present online information about the opportunities for starting or continuing professional realization in Bulgaria, peculiarities of the labor and social legislation in our country, the measures for combining personal and professional life, internship programs, professional development, data on living and working conditions in the country.
Employers will have the opportunity to present their companies and apply for vacancies.
Participants will have the opportunity to make direct contact with employers to find out about the jobs they offer, as well as to apply for job advertisements, which are currently over 250 on the website of the event.
