20.03.2024
THE MLSP HAS LAUNCHED A PUBLIC DISCUSSION ON HOW TO RESTRUCTURE THE AGENCY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is starting a public discussion on how to restructure the Agency for People with Disabilities under the Minister of Labor and Social Policy into a State Agency under the Council of Ministers in the most effective way for people. For this purpose, a short survey was developed in which the current concept of the restructuring is presented.
At this stage, the proposals for amendments and additions to the Law on Persons with Disabilities in the context of the upcoming institutional transformation are based on the understanding of delegation of powers to the new State Agency for Persons with Disabilities in a way that would allow it to serve as an intersectoral coordination platform the development and implementation of policies, programs, legislative and institutional changes relating to and related to persons with disabilities.
The survey presents the main functions of the Agency for People with Disabilities, which are planned to continue to be performed by the State Agency for People with Disabilities, as well as those that are planned to be transferred to other agencies under the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs policy with similar powers. New commitments have also been announced, which are expected to be assigned to the future State Agency.
Until April 15, 2024, everyone can express their opinion about the vision for the State Agency for People with Disabilities by completing the survey on the topic "Transformation of the Agency for People with Disabilities into the State Agency for People with Disabilities under the Council of Ministers".
Increasing the effectiveness of policies for people with disabilities is one of the government's priorities, which is why the transformation of the Agency for People with Disabilities into a State Agency is included in the Management Program. The normative change will guarantee the construction of a precise institutional and management structure of the State Agency for People with Disabilities, as well as the accurate forecasting and planning of the necessary budget costs related to the creation of the new agency and the provision of subsequent administrative processes and activities.
Note: In case you have a problem opening the survey, copy this link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf218YRUQXzJWGwO4ewwMmNo2xKFc_hHYTKnJ237-7FOF9JqQ/viewform and put it in your browser.
19.03.2024
WOMEN WORK PART-TIME MORE OFTEN THAN MEN
In the third quarter of 2023, the proportion of women aged 15 to 64 working part-time (28 per cent) was more than three times that of men (8 per cent) working part-time, Eurostat data show.
Part-time women outnumbered men in all occupations, according to the categories defined by the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO).
The biggest difference between women and men is registered in categories with low qualifications such as caretakers, cleaners and kitchen assistants - as much as 29 percent. 47 percent of women and 19 percent of men work in this part-time category.
In the service and sales sector, 35 per cent of women work part-time compared to 16 per cent of men, and in the administration sector this applies to 29 per cent of women and 9 per cent of men.
The difference is lowest in managerial positions (10 percent of women versus 5 percent of men) and in machine operators (12 percent versus 4 percent).
In most EU countries, women work part-time more often than men. This percentage is highest in the Netherlands - 63 percent compared to 23 percent for men, or a difference of 39 percentage points. High differences were also reported in Austria (38 percent) and Germany (37 percent).
Romania is an exception, where part-time men (4 percent) outnumber women (3 percent).
In Bulgaria, the share of part-time working women and men is equal - 1 percent each.
18.03.2024
JOB ADVERTISEMENTS IN OUR COUNTRY CONTINUE TO GROW
The number of job advertisements in our country continues to grow in almost all sectors, according to the monthly analysis of the HR company and career site "JobTiger".
In February, a growth of 4 percent (1,700 offers more) was recorded compared to the previous January. Year-on-year decline is still reported. The offers are 7 percent (about 3,100) less compared to the same period in 2023, the company said.
Characteristic for this period of the year, there is an increased offers of work in the "Hospitality and restaurant industry" sector - there are 1,200 more advertisements compared to January - an increase of 22 percent. After him in terms of growth in offers are the sectors "Trade and sales" (450 offers more, 4 percent growth), "Construction" (230 offers more, 10 percent growth) and "Administrative and service activities" (190 offers more, 4 percent growth).
The sectors with the biggest drop in offers are "Manufacturing" (370 offers less, 6 percent drop), "Healthcare and Pharmacy" (220 offers less, 9 percent drop) and "Accounting, Audit, Finance" (120 fewer offers, a 5 percent drop).
The sectors "Logistics and Transport", "Production", "Marketing and Advertising" and IT remain unchanged - the number of advertisements in them is at the same level as in January.
On an annual basis, growth is reported in the sectors "Healthcare and pharmacy" (12 percent), "Administrative and service activities" (5 percent), "Trade and sales" (3 percent), "Construction" (2 percent) and "Marketing and advertising" (0.2 percent).
Share distribution
According to the analysis of "Job Tiger", the sector with the largest share of advertisements in February is "Trade and Sales" (24 percent). Due to the increased job offer, the "Hospitality and restaurant industry" sector (16 percent) displaces the "Manufacturing" sector (15 percent) from second place, followed by: "Administrative and service activities" (12 percent), "Logistics and transport" (10 percent), IT (8 percent), "Construction" (6 percent), "Health care and pharmacy" (5.2 percent), "Accounting, auditing, finance" (5.1 percent hundred), "Marketing and Advertising" (3 percent) and "Art" (1 percent).
Work from home
A slight increase of 2 percent was reported in the offers for work from home and/or remote work, and as a share of the total number of ads, this type of offer accounted for 9 percent of the offer in February.
The distribution of this type of offer by sector is as follows: 50 percent in the IT sector, followed by "Administrative and service activities" (19 percent), the outsourcing (BPO) industry sectors (16 percent) and "Trade and sales" (8 percent).
Offers by cities
A positive trend is observed in the leading regional cities, according to the survey. The number of advertisements has changed as follows: Sofia (+1 per cent), Plovdiv (+4 per cent), Varna (+11 per cent), Burgas (+11 per cent) and Stara Zagora (+3 per cent) . The number of proposals in Ruse remains the same as in January.
As for share distribution in Sofia, the ads are 43 percent, and in the other cities they are as follows: Plovdiv (10 percent), Varna (9 percent), Burgas (4 percent), Ruse (3 percent) and Stara Zagora (3 percent).
A Job Tiger analysis released in early February showed a rise in job offers across all sectors in January 2024. The total number of adverts was up 37 per cent (11,200 more adverts) compared to December 2023. On an annual basis basis, a 10 percent drop was reported, with job advertisements being nearly 4,500 fewer than in January 2023. For January, the company also reported the first monthly increase in offers in the IT sector for the last 12 months.
15.03.2024
HOW MUCH ARE WAGES INCREASING IN INDIVIDUAL SECTORS?
In eight economic activities, average wages are above the national average, which at the end of 2023 is BGN 2,123. Those employed in these activities are about 34% of all. However, average wages are lower in eleven economic activities, employing about 66% of all employed. This is shown by data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy at the end of 2023.
The highest salaries in our country are in "Creation and dissemination of information and creative products, telecommunications" - BGN 4,852, and in one year the average there has increased by 9.8%. In the economic activity "Production and distribution of electric and thermal energy and gaseous fuels" an average salary of BGN 3,278 was recorded, and its growth for the year was 11.7%.
In "Financial and insurance activities", the average salary is BGN 3,086, and it has risen by 8.2% in a year. Those working in "Professional activities and scientific research" earn BGN 2,820, in "Mining Industry" - BGN 2,797, and in "State Administration" - BGN 2,572, where, however, the average salary has also increased by nearly 15 percent for a year.
The biggest increase was in salaries in "Education" - by 16.7 percent, with the average there now being BGN 2,526. In "Human Health and Social Work" an average salary of BGN 2,185 was reported, which is an annual growth of 10.3%.
Of the 11 sectors with lower wages, the highest wages are in the economic activity "Trade, repair of cars and motorcycles" - BGN 1,803, which has increased by 11.2%. It is followed by "Culture, sports and entertainment" - BGN 1,808, salaries increase by 12.9% on an annual basis, and "Real estate operations" - BGN 1,836, a positive growth on an annual basis of 12.4%.
Wages remain the lowest in "Hospitality and restaurant industry" - only BGN 1,304, despite the growth of nearly 20 percent in a year. In "Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries", an average salary of BGN 1,460 is reported in the fourth quarter of 2023, a positive growth on an annual basis of 5.5%. In "Transport, warehousing and communications" there is also a serious increase in wages - by 17.2%, with the average at the end of 2023 already being BGN 1,742.
The data also show that those working in the public sector receive higher salaries than those in the private sector. In the private sector, an average salary of BGN 2,065 was reported, a 12.7 percent nominal growth compared to the same period in 2022, while in the public sector, the average salary was BGN 2,297, a growth of 14% for the year. In the public sector, the highest salaries are in the economic activity "Financial and insurance activities" - BGN 5,102, and they beat those in the private sector, where the highest average remuneration is in "Creation and dissemination of information and creative products; telecommunications" - BGN 4,906, in one year the average salary there has grown by 9.5%.
There is also a serious difference in wages in different areas in our country. The region with the highest average salary is Sofia (capital) - BGN 2,900, 36.6% higher than the average salary for the country, compared to the quarter of 2022, it increased by 6.5%.
The district with the lowest average salary is Vidin - BGN 1,397. It is about 65.8% of the average for the country, compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, it increases by 2%. Other districts with low average wages are Blagoevgrad - BGN 1,417 (66.7% of the national average), Kyustendil - BGN 1,424 (67.1% of the national average), Smolyan - BGN 1,433 (67, 5% of the national average). The largest increase in the average salary in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to the same period of 2022, was recorded in Vratsa (11.4%) and Targovishte (9.9%), the smallest in Vidin - 2.0%.
14.03.2024
HOW COMPANIES GET MONEY TO HIRE THE UNEMPLOYED
From March 8, the Employment Agency started accepting applications for the "Starting a job - Component 3 "Employment" project, which is part of a comprehensive package of measures aimed at the labor integration of unemployed and inactive persons with an emphasis on persons in a disadvantaged position.
A total of 14,400 people are expected to be employed under the project, and its duration is until the end of 2026, the agency announced.
Employers can now submit requests from 08:30 a.m. for the project in an electronic environment and within just one month - until 11:59 p.m. on 04/07/2024 (Sunday) inclusive. The electronic application that must be completed is available on the official website of the Employment Agency.
After the expiration of this one-month period, the Employment Agency will rank the requests in the order of their arrival and, if there is a remaining financial resource, the project will be open for applications for a new period, information about which will be published in due course.
The target groups that can be included in the project "Starting work - Component 3 "Employment" are inactive and unemployed persons, incl. inactive and unemployed persons in a disadvantaged position and inactive and unemployed persons with permanent disabilities (with an established degree of reduced working capacity/type and degree of disability 75% and over 75%).
The period of subsidized employment of the persons employed within the project is determined based on their belonging to one of the following categories:
- unemployed and inactive persons - for a period of up to 6 months;
- unemployed and inactive disadvantaged persons - for a period of up to 12 months;
- unemployed and inactive persons with permanent disabilities - for a period of up to 24 months.
Funds that will be reimbursed to project employers are in the form of unit costs (standard unit cost table). And employers who retain the employment of a person employed by them after the expiry of the relevant period of sustainable employment will receive additional one-time incentives in the form of a standard table per unit of expenditure.
Requests for vacancies can be submitted by employers from the real sector, incl. municipalities and municipal enterprises. In order to achieve the main goal of the project to the maximum extent, additional conditions have been set that must be met by the applicant employers in order to be approved for participation.
Thresholds of the maximum permissible number of vacancies that can be claimed by an employer will be applied under the project - depending on the percentage of registered unemployment in the municipality in whose territory the jobs are opened.
Employers and persons wishing to join the project "Starting a job - Component 3 "Employment" can get more detailed information in all labor offices in the country, as well as on the official website of the Employment Agency or here.
13.03.2024
REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYMENT OF UNDER-MINOR WORKERS
The Labor Inspectorate indicated that, based on its control activity, the results indicate an increase in the number of permits for the employment of minors for the first seven months of 2023. In the reference, it is specified that their number is 10,459, with an increase not only compared to the same period in 2022, when there were 8,422, but also before the Covid crisis, when in 2019 they were 7,397.
The most permits are granted in Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv, Dobrich, Sofia city, Sofia region, Blagoevgrad, etc. Minors are mostly employed in hotels, restaurants and trade.
What are the requirements of the law regarding the age for hiring persons in an employment relationship and how the procedure should be applied?
According to the law in Bulgaria, the statutory minimum age for starting work is 16 years. The employment of children from 15 to 16 years of age is allowed to carry out work that is light and not dangerous or harmful to health.
It is envisaged that for each person under the age of 18, the employer submits to the Regional Directorate "Labor Inspection" an application for obtaining a work permit, attaching the following documents in detail:
It is important to specify that, exceptionally, children under 14 years of age may be employed in circus and film productions, as well as the arts, but under reduced conditions and in accordance with the requirements for their proper physical, mental and moral development.
Minors work under a reduced regime, and the working hours for these workers and employees are 35 hours a week and seven hours a day in a five-day work week. Their daily and weekly working hours also include the time for acquiring a professional qualification and for its improvement, when it is carried out in the process of work.
They are also prohibited from performing night and overtime work. The law guarantees them that they will receive at least the national minimum wage, even though they work fewer hours. As it became clear from the necessary documentation mentioned above, which employers should provide to the Labor Inspectorate, persons under the age of 18 enter work after a thorough medical examination and a medical conclusion that they are fit for the job.
Labor inspectors exercise control over the employment of under-18s, and workplaces where they are employed can be inspected to determine whether working conditions pose a risk to their health.
If a violation is established, that the employer has hired a minor without permission from the Labor Inspectorate, the prosecutor's office is notified and criminal proceedings are initiated. The labor inspectorate reminds that starting work without permission from the control authority is considered a crime under Bulgarian legislation.
In the event that employment without a permit from the Labor Inspectorate is found, the control body draws up an act of the employer, when it is a legal entity, issues a criminal decree and sends the materials to the relevant prosecutor's office to establish the commission of a crime.
A review of the practice of the courts shows that, although rare, effective judgments have been issued against employers for employing minors.
Over the years, the procedure for issuing employment permits to persons under the age of 18 has been simplified.
Currently, the employer should present: job description, risk assessment results, safety measures and medical report. For persons aged 15 to 16 and distribution of working hours.
The labor inspectorate grants or refuses a permit within seven days.
The refusals are related to work that is harmful to the physical and mental health of minors, as well as to activities on which the life and health of people depend, such as lifeguards.
Reference:
Ordinance No. 6 of July 24, 2006 on the terms and conditions for issuing work permits to persons under the age of 18
13.03.2024
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE ENTERPRISES ARE CHANGING
New criteria that must be met by an enterprise to be defined as micro, small, medium or large, provide for changes to the Accounting Act, uploaded for public consultation.
The reason for the change is dictated by the significant inflationary processes in 2021 and 2022 and the reported growth of inflation in the period from 2013 to 2023, it is written in the reasons for the bill.
Under the Accounting Directive, enterprises and groups are categorized as 'micro', 'small', 'medium' and 'large' according to which two of three size indicators they fulfill. Two of these indicators are financial - book value of assets and net sales revenue, and the third is the average number of employees. The European Commission is obliged to review the financial indicators every five years and, if appropriate, to amend them, taking into account inflation.
In view of inflation, the amount of financial indicators is estimated to be adjusted by 25%.
Thus, according to the changes, micro-enterprises are those which, as of December 31 of the current reporting period, do not exceed at least two of the following indicators: the balance sheet value of assets is BGN 900,000 compared to BGN 700,000 now, and net sales revenue is BGN 1.8 million at BGN 1.4 million now.
Those enterprises where the two indicators do not exceed BGN 10 million and BGN 20 million will be considered small. Medium will be those in which the assets do not exceed 50 million BGN, and the revenues 100 million BGN, and large, those that exceed them, it is written in the draft law.
Enterprises and enterprise groups determine their category for 2024 in accordance with the new requirements according to their indicators as of December 31, 2023, so 2024 will be considered the first reporting period.
The law is scheduled to enter into force on July 6 of this year.
The bill introduces an obligation for enterprises to draw up a sustainability report.
It will be drawn up by large enterprises and by small and medium-sized enterprises (except micro-enterprises) whose transferable securities are admitted to trading on the regulated market in an EU Member State (public interest enterprises), as well as by parent enterprises of large groups of enterprises.
An obligation is also provided for subsidiaries and branches of enterprises regulated by the legislation of a third country to publish such a report under certain conditions.
An obligation to prepare an activity report containing a sustainability report is set to enter into force for the accounting year 2024 for large enterprises that are public interest enterprises and which, on 31 December of the accounting period, exceed the average number criterion in the financial year of 500 employees, as well as public interest enterprises that are parent enterprises of a large group which, as of December 31, exceeds on a consolidated basis the criterion for an average number of employees during the financial year of 500 people. For the remaining enterprises within the scope of the directive, the obligation arises gradually in the following reporting years, until 2028.
12.03.2024
IN ROMANIA, IT IS CHEAPER THAN IN BULGARIA, DESPITE THE INCREASE IN PRICES
The prices of basic foods in Romania have increased by 40 percent in the last three years. This is shown by the data of the National Statistical Institute, quoted by Digi24. The media noted that for eggs, chicken, oil, potatoes, flour and sugar, people are paying almost twice as much compared to 2021.
While Romania's National Institute of Statistics reports an 83 percent increase in the price of potatoes, people say a kilogram of the vegetable now costs them two or three times more. In a hypermarket in Bucharest, for example, the price starts from nearly 3.3 lei (BGN 1.31) and can reach almost 5 lei (BGN 2), BTA found. The price in the markets varies around 4 lei (BGN 1.6). In 2021, a kilogram of potatoes was 1.77 lei (0.70 BGN cents).
The same situation occurs with other basic food products, notes Digi24, referring to the data of the National Statistical Institute. Chicken meat has increased in price by 81 percent in 3 years, tomatoes - by 55 percent. And if three years ago Romanians paid about 50 lei (BGN 20) for a basket full of a kilogram of chicken, one kilogram of tomatoes, one kilogram of potatoes, one sugar, a package of flour, a bottle of oil, one juice and 10 eggs, now the bill exceeds 80 lei (BGN 31).
According to local economists, the increase in prices also comes from the fact that by importing a lot of food, Romania also "imports" inflation from the countries where the goods come from.
"Romania still produces enough to fully ensure domestic consumption of only two food products: eggs and sheep meat. For the rest, we are in the hands of imports," commented Christian Paun, professor of economics.
Recently, a team from the television show "Agro Journal" on Digi24 TV made a comparison of prices between Romania and Bulgaria and found that salaries are lower in our country, but food products are more expensive.
The journalistic check in one of the large chain stores in Sofia showed that a bottle of oil is BGN 2.50, a kilogram of sugar - BGN 2.59, two kilograms of flour - BGN 3.49.
For comparison, in a large supermarket in Bucharest, 2 packages of flour are sold for 5.70 lei (2.28 BGN), a bottle of oil costs 5.99 lei (2.39 BGN), and a kilogram of sugar is 4.45 lei (BGN 1.78).
11.03.2024
IN SOME SECTORS, THEY ARE MASSIVELY EMPLOYED ON THE MINIMUM WAGE
The minimum wage is below the means of subsistence. With a high level of discouraged unemployed and negative demographic processes, for 1 working person there are on average 1.5 unemployed people for support. This means that in Bulgaria those working on the minimum wage can fall into the risk zone and be considered poor. This is stated in an analysis of the Economic and Social Council.
According to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute, there are 440,320 persons, or 19% of the total number of those employed on a labor and service legal basis, employed on the minimum basic salary for the first nine months of 2023. There is a stronger presence in the private sector, where they represent 23.3% of those employed in the sector, while in the public sector they are 5.8%. The stable retention of around ¼ of those employed on the minimum wage in the private sector is impressive, while the share of those employed in the public sector will decrease by half in the period 2018-2023, the analysis states.
According to its authors, those working on the minimum wage cover the category of low-paid workers and hence make up a significant share of the working poor in Bulgaria. At the same time, those employed on the minimum basic wage are only part of the category of "low-wage workers". The scope is expanded following the definition of employed with pay equal to two-thirds or less of the national median gross hourly wage. If we look at the latest up-to-date minimum wage data (September 2023), there is a concentration of minimum wage earners in certain economic activities. Thus, sectors such as construction, agriculture, trade, transport, administrative and auxiliary activities report a high share of those employed on the minimum wage (or more than ¼ of those employed in the sector), while in other sectors this share is insignificant (e.g. creation and distribution of information, government, education, electricity production and distribution). A characteristic feature of these industries is the presence of a wide gray sector, lack of insurance and non-compliance with labor legislation, which as a rule presupposes the reproduction of poverty in the post-employment period, the Economic and Social Council points out.
They note from there that the net amount of the minimum wage for the country in recent years has remained above the poverty line, but does not correlate with the cost of living.
The government took the first step by adopting an official poverty line based on the SILK (Eurostat) methodology. However, it must be followed by the second, equally important step – the adoption of a methodology/mechanism for updating the minimum payments, for which a working group was created at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
The mode of work and the form of employment are criteria that significantly influence the formation of the working poor category. The risk of poverty for permanent contract workers (8.6% in 2022) is four times lower than for temporary workers (34.7% in 2022 at risk of poverty with temporary work), reports the Council.
According to the analysis, the underemployment factor in Bulgaria has no significant impact on poverty, since according to official statistics, only 2-3% of employed persons are part-time. Part-time employment is not attractive because of the low level of pay. As paradoxical as it may sound, instead of striving to limit working hours, there is definitely an attitude in our country towards a voluntary increase in working hours, as long as this leads to slightly higher incomes in absolute terms.
The risk of in-work poverty varies with household structure. The presence of children, pensioners and people with special needs in the household increases the risk of a household with working members falling below the poverty line. The risk of poverty is highest in households with one worker and dependent children (22.0% working poor in this type of household). A high share of the working poor (12.1%) is also found in Bulgarian households, composed of a) a single worker and b) two or more workers with dependent children. The lowest concentration of working poor in Bulgaria is found in households with two or more working people without children (5.2%). Relative to households of two workers but with dependent family members, there is twice the level of reported working poor.
The Economic and Social Council finds a direct link between low levels of education and skills and low-paid employment and an increased risk of poverty, as many of these jobs are insecure and generally of low quality. They also open the so-called low-wage labor trap - i.e. individuals find themselves in a situation where they choose between unemployment and low pay. On the one hand, the availability of low-wage jobs can provide opportunities for job seekers, but they also lead to low levels of productivity and underutilization of workers' skills, limiting the economic growth and prosperity of the state. The latest available data are for 2018 and they show that in Bulgaria the total level of low-paid workers equals 21.4%, or about 670 thousand persons.
The relative share of the poor before social transfers remained stable in the period from 2018 to 2022, varying between 41.7% and 44.2% in different age groups and by gender. The rise in the poverty rate from 22.9% to 44.2% when social transfers are subtracted shows that this tool prevents low-paid workers from falling into the category of the working poor - especially housing or childcare benefits, plus minimum income guarantee schemes .
The relative share of the poor by region ranges from 12.9% to 33.9%, the analysis states. The leading factors for poverty by region are employment, the share of graduates and minority groups. The large differences in poverty at the regional level relative to the national poverty line, as well as the different factors that exacerbate poverty in individual regions, suggest policies that take these differences into account - especially with regard to labor market and education policies. The highest relative share of the poor relative to the poverty line for the district is in the districts of Stara Zagora - 33.9%, Dobrich - 27.0%, Lovech - 26.8%, and Pernik - 25.5%. The relative share of the poor is lowest in the districts of Shumen - 12.9%, Veliko Tarnovo - 15.8%, Silistra - 16.1%, and Targovishte - 16.2%. Compared to 2021, the areas remain relatively repetitive over the period considered.
The Economic and Social Council reports that there are significant differences in the poverty profile in cities and in villages. Urban poverty has a distinct monetary character, while poverty in villages is primarily associated with access to the labor market, education, healthcare, etc. social services. In villages, natural consumption continues to form a significant part of total consumption at the expense of income from wages or entrepreneurship.
In Bulgaria, the total level of low-paid workers equals 21.4%, or about 670 thousand persons. Gender ratios for low-paid work are largely reversed from the picture in the EU. In Bulgaria, men (23.6%) more often fall into the category of low-paid workers (compared to 19.2% of women), and there are no significant distortions in terms of age differences.
08.03.2024
BGN 88 MILLION IN THE BUDGET FOR ACTIVE LABOR MARKET POLICIES
BGN 88 million are provided in the state budget for 2024 for the so-called active policies of the labor market - this is provided for by the draft of the National Employment Action Plan, which is yet to be approved by the government.
The funds are BGN 15 million more than last year. They will provide employment to 9,900 unemployed people, and another 8,600 people will be included in various trainings.
The National Employment Action Plan is adopted each year by the government after consultation with business and trade unions. It sets out the parameters of all national programs and projects for training and employment financed by the state budget.
Among them are the well-known "Start your career" for young graduates, "Beautiful Bulgaria", "Help for retirement" and others. The remunerations of those included in the various measures are also determined. For example, for 2024, those included in "Start in the career" will receive BGN 1,100 per month, and under the National Program "Activation of inactive persons" the salary will be BGN 1,140 for hired Roma mediators and youth mediators in the municipalities, and BGN 1,280 - for employed psychologists.
BGN 15 per day is the stipend for the training time of unemployed persons who participate in training for literacy, acquisition of a professional qualification or key competences. They receive up to BGN 20 per day for transport costs. Funds for starting an independent business activity by unemployed persons who have registered a micro-enterprise are up to BGN 5,000 according to the approved business project.
