15.06.2023
SUCCESS TECHNIQUES: HOW TO DEAL WITH THE IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Imposter syndrome is a trap that many of us often fall into. It's an inner voice that tells us that our insecurities are because we're not good enough, and eventually, one day, everyone will understand that. He makes us believe that one failure is more important than all the successes.
It's an all-too-common phenomenon faced by professional athletes, scientists, experts at the top of their fields, and 75% of women in leadership positions, according to a recent study.
This strong level of doubt in our own abilities discourages us and hinders our ability to make authentic decisions. It disrupts our productivity and leads to burnout. Even worse, when we convince ourselves that we're not good enough and should just "fake it till we make it," we focus our energy on covering up our insecurities and waste the time we need to learn and we grow. This is bad news for businesses and individuals alike.
What exactly is imposter syndrome and what does it look like in practice?
Imposter syndrome was first identified and named by clinical psychologists Pauline Rose Clans and Susan Ames in 1978. Although not an official diagnosis, this phenomenon is widely recognized among mental health professionals as a very real form of self-doubt. his abilities. The syndrome is often accompanied by anxiety and depression, and it affects all kinds of people in a variety of situations.
Unfortunately, imposter syndrome is also something that most of us keep deep within us, making it hard to spot — especially in the workplace. However, there are some telltale signs. An example of this is the type of perfectionism where an employee is hesitant to share progress on a task or give feedback. Another warning sign that someone is deeply insecure is an unwillingness to share ideas, ask questions, or ask for help when needed. Many who suffer from imposter syndrome also have a fixed mindset, believing that a person's traits and talents are static. These people often think that if they work hard at something, it means they are not naturally good at it and it is okay to give up. Unfortunately, this way of thinking can prevent people from realizing their full potential. However, it's important to note that it doesn't have to go that far.
Every leader always cares about his team. Supporting our employees through their toughest struggles and during their greatest successes is the most important thing a leader can do. It is his job to ensure their growth if they have sunk into self-doubt. Here are three key strategies that will allow you to overcome imposter syndrome:
Normalize errors and fluctuations
The idea that your success is somehow due to luck and that you are not really as competent as your peers is a thought that creeps into most people's minds. Sometimes this coincides with certain challenges, such as difficulty learning a new skill or making a mistake. It can also occur against the background of success. Remind yourself regularly that many people (even Olympic gold medalists) experience these feelings of self-doubt. It is also useful to emphasize that pursuing ambitious goals goes hand in hand with making mistakes. When things go wrong, we have a choice. One option is to adopt a growth mindset—to learn from the situation and move forward with new knowledge. The other option is to let this stumbling block stop us completely.
Promote a culture of psychological safety
The mindset needed to maintain a happy and high-performing team is only possible when people feel psychologically safe in the workplace. When employees are afraid to be authentic, give honest feedback, and make mistakes, they won't be willing to take risks, learn new skills, or solve problems. To allow their employees to be vulnerable, take risks, and grow, a leader must support and protect them as needed. This means giving them the support they need to learn, grow and be themselves.
Celebrate successes and achievements regularly
Both at home and at work, people love to celebrate. We believe in scoring victories, be they big or small, at the earliest opportunity. There will always be challenges and setbacks to overcome, which makes counting even the small successes so important. Whether that means mentioning a job well done during a team meeting, meeting one-on-one with an outstanding employee who deserves praise, we know from experience how important it is for people to be recognized for their successes. This helps them gain the confidence they need to continue to develop over time.
Imposter syndrome and a lack of psychological security can prevent even the most capable people from realizing their full potential. Since a leader must take care of his team, it is necessary that they have the opportunity not only to thrive at work, but also to develop. We know that empathetic and effective communication, as well as building a psychologically safe environment, is an important part of this.
15.06.2023
THE ANNUAL SALARY IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF MONTANA IS SLIGHTLY OVER 15,000 BGN
The average annual salary in the municipality of Montana for 2021 is BGN 15,102. It has grown compared to 2020 by BGN 1,611. This is recorded in the annual report on the implementation of the Plan for Integrated Development of the Municipality of Montana in 2022, which was approved by the councilors at the last session.
The report also assesses the effective and efficient spending of funds from the state and municipal budgets, as well as EU funding.
The data from the document show that in 2021 the population in the municipality decreased by 2.12% or 979 people compared to the previous year 2020.
Every 100 people who leave working age are replaced by 63 young people, which leads to the conclusion that it is still difficult to find labor for the local economy.
In a year, the enterprises in the municipality decreased by five, but the value of the produced products increased by over 102,000 thousand BGN, and the revenue from sales by 114,175 thousand BGN.
In 2022, the labor market in the municipality of Montana is characterized by a decrease in registered unemployment, but also a lack of new jobs opened in the municipality.
In 2022, a total of 102 projects and initiatives with a total value of BGN 59,540,857.94 were reported. The funds actually paid from local revenues, the republican budget and European money amounted to BGN 18,000,099.32.
14.06.2023
28 MUNICIPALITIES WITH 50% PERMANENTLY UNEMPLOYED
Almost all indicators indicate that the labor market in Bulgaria is in very good shape, despite the gradual slowdown in economic growth - unemployment is very low, employment has exceeded records since 2019, and expanding businesses in various industries are competing for staff.
However, this does not mean that the labor market does not lack free resources, or that it does not have visible imperfections. While a certain level of unemployment is expected, and even healthy for well-functioning labor markets, keeping people out of work long-term is a sign of structural problems. An analysis by the Institute for Market Economy examines the territorial distribution of the permanently unemployed and some of their characteristics.
The presented data are calculations of the Institute for Market Economy based on the monthly data provided by the Employment Agency. Since the Employment Agency does not publish average annual data on the permanently unemployed, the analysis uses the average number of unemployed persons with registration for more than one year at the labor offices for the 12 months of 2022, presented as a share of the total population in a working age age, as well as from all unemployed. It is important to note that this number does not include those looking for work independently (say, through online platforms), so the indicators included here most likely underestimate long-term unemployment.
In 2022, the average annual number of permanently unemployed throughout the country was 35.5 thousand people. However, their distribution is highly uneven - two relatively small municipalities, Kotel and Kaolinovo, each have 1,100 permanently unemployed, their number is also large in Velingrad and Pleven, with almost 900 people each.
And vice versa, there are entire groups of municipalities where this phenomenon practically does not exist - in the Srednogorieta, almost all the Black Sea municipalities, near Gabrovo and Veliko Tarnovo.
It is also noteworthy that, despite the large size of the labor markets of the leading municipal economies, the number of permanently unemployed in them is very small - in Varna it is only 28 people on average per year, in Plovdiv - 105, in the capital - 242. Several regions are being formed, which concentrate the majority of the permanently unemployed - practically the entire Northwest around Vidin, Montana, Pleven and Lovech, significant parts of the Northeast around Razgrad, Shumen, Silistra and Targovishte, as well as smaller clusters in Blagoevgrad and Smolyan.
The distribution of the permanent unemployment rate, which describes the share of the unemployed with registration for more than a year among the able-bodied population (between the ages of 15 and 64) of the municipalities, is similar. In three small municipalities - Kaolinovo, Dimovo and Ruzhintsi - the coefficient is over 20%, and in another 27 municipalities it is over 10%.
As expected, there are also visible clusters in the Northwest and Northeast, but some border areas also stand out - to the west along the border with Serbia and to the southeast with Turkey. In most municipalities, the rate of permanent unemployment is low - in 110 of them it is below 1%, in 150 - below 2%, in Sofia - only 0.04% of the working population. This, in turn, means that in almost the entire country, the share of people who want to have a job, but cannot find one, remains relatively small.
The most interesting indicator is the share of the permanently unemployed among all unemployed. It is indicative of the state of local labor markets and, above all, of the ability of potential workers to adapt to local labor demand.
In as many as 28 municipalities - and here mostly in the North-West, North-East and border regions - the share of permanently unemployed persons is over 50% of all job seekers. Conversely, this share is lowest in the municipalities with the most dynamic and adaptable labor markets – those of the largest regional centers, coastal tourist municipalities and leading industrial areas.
The strong regional concentration of permanent unemployment once again underlines the need to apply a regional approach to labor market policies. It is, of course, only one aspect of a multidimensional problem – large groups of individuals remain permanently outside the labor market and, despite their desire to find work, are largely currently unemployable due to low education and inadequate skills.
This is a visible obstacle to the economic development of some of the poorest Bulgarian regions, where the direction of investments has the potential to bring rapid change, but the lack of a trained workforce is among the most serious obstacles to such investment decisions being made from the perspective of individual companies. As businesses face increasing barriers to finding suitable staff, however, the long-term unemployed, along with the inactive, are becoming an increasingly important resource for expanding employment, making it all the more crucial to upskill them to match demand to potential future employers.
14.06.2023
LEAVES DUE TO PERSONAL AND FAMILY REASONS
Leaves for the performance of civil, public and other duties are defined in the Labor Code. The worker or employee has the right to them under the law, and the employer is obliged to ensure their use by releasing the worker or employee from work, without the right to judge whether or not to grant the corresponding type of leave and when to grant it.
Leave for the fulfillment of personal, family and community obligations is due regardless of paid annual leave or unpaid leave, whenever there is a reason for their use (i.e. they are not deducted from the due paid annual leave). Prior accumulated work experience is not required of the worker or employee for their use.
Here are some of the events defined by law for which we are entitled to leave:
Marriage leave
The employer is obliged to release the worker or employee from work upon entering into marriage (the conclusion of a civil marriage). This type of leave is not granted for the performance of a church or other ritual on the occasion of the creation of a family. The duration of leave is 2 working days. The granting of the leave is not related to the sequence of marriage.
Leave for donating blood
The employer is obliged to relieve the worker or the employee from work when donating blood - for the day of the examination and blood donation, as well as 1 day after it. This type of leave is granted to the worker (employee) to donate blood.
Leave in case of death of a close relative
The employer is obliged to release the employee from work in the event of the death of a close relative - 2 working days. The worker or employee is entitled to this leave for the day of the relevant event (the day of death) and for the following working day. When the day of the event coincides with the weekly holiday, the leave is used in the first 2 working days after it.
During leave for marriage, blood donation and the death of a close relative of the worker or employee, remuneration is paid according to the provisions of the collective labor agreement or according to an agreement between the worker or employee and the employer. If there are no such agreements, then no remuneration is due.
Reference:
Art. 157 of the Labor Code
Art. 50, para. 1 of the Ordinance on working hours, breaks and leaves
13.06.2023
WHERE UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS ARE HIGHEST
On average, there were 56,911 registered unemployed persons per month entitled to unemployment compensation from the State Social Insurance in 2022. This is shown by the data of the National Social Security Institute for last year.
The largest number of those registered were in the Sofia-city districts, where the monthly average was 7,922 (13.9%), Plovdiv with 5,213 (9.2%) and Blagoevgrad – 4,535 (8%). The least are in Silistra (950), Yambol (799) and Vidin (581). Women are on average 32,183 or 56.5% of all entitled persons, while men are considerably less – 24,638 (43.5%). According to their educational profile, 40,137 or just over 70% of the unemployed have a secondary education. Graduates are 7,295 (12.8%) per month, and those with basic education - 6,659 (11.7%).
About BGN 652 was the average amount of cash compensation for unemployment paid by DOO in 2022.
The largest amount was in the districts of Blagoevgrad and Targovishte, where each eligible person received an average of BGN 889. Among the districts with the highest benefits is Sofia City, where the average amount of the payment was BGN 818.
The average amount of compensation was the lowest in the regions of Montana and Silistra (BGN 529 each), Kyustendil (BGN 522) and Vidin (BGN 512).
The compensation values for men are significantly higher - in 2022, an unemployed man received an average of nearly BGN 725, for women the amount was just under BGN 596.
The number of registered unemployed persons with the right to compensation from the State Social Insurance in March 2023 decreased by 6% compared to a month earlier, data for the first months of the year show. In February, 60,359 people received funds from the NSI, and in March they decreased by 3,707 to 56,652.
About BGN 749 was the average amount of cash compensation for unemployment in March 2023, which is BGN 71 more than the previous month. Men were paid an average of BGN 824.24, while women received BGN 669.
12.06.2023
DIGITAL SUPPORT IS BEING PREPARED FOR 45 KEY PROFESSIONS
Digital support is being intensively prepared for 45 key professions in our country. This became known from the final conference for reporting the results of the "Digital Support" project, reports the press center of Confederation of labor "Podkrepa".
The need for digitization of 45 basic positions and professions in 9 sectors of the Bulgarian economy has been studied - i.e. 5 main professions from each field. The nine economic sectors are forestry, mining, production of rubber and plastic products, production of products from other non-metallic mineral raw materials, collection and disposal of waste and recycling of raw materials, telecommunications, medical and social care with accommodation, social work without accommodation , as well as "other activities in the field of culture".
Among the professions studied are forest engineer, forester, energy dispatcher, adjuster of injection machines for rubber products, machine operator in the production of cement or concrete products, manager of health and safety working conditions in the collection and recycling of waste, telecommunications technician, medical rehabilitator, speech therapist, psychologist, rehabilitator, museum pedagogue, chief librarian, etc.
During the event, the Deputy Ministers of Labor and Social Policy Nataliya Efremova and Emil Mingov took part, Tsvetan Spasov - Head of the Governing Body of the Human Resources Development Program, Dobrin Ivanov - Executive Director of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, Beata Papazova - adviser "European integration and projects" at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emil Rogov - head of "Projects" of the Union for Economic Initiative and Krasimira Brozig - general secretary of the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training, Polina Marinova - executive director of the Employment Agency.
"Over the past few years, in the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, we have been creating an ecosystem of the digital transition," Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy Nataliya Efremova said at the conference, the ministry reports.
She emphasized that together with the social partners, the strategic basis of the digital transition is being created, and with funding from the Human Resources Development Program, the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience and funds from the state budget, a palette of measures will be developed to increase the digital skills of all participants in the labor market and in support of employers.
Currently, the training programs and methodologies are being developed, which are research-based based on the results of the projects implemented by the social partners under the "Development of Digital Skills" operation. Efremova was adamant that for a successful digital transition, efforts must be made to ensure the accessibility of training for digital skills.
"The future will be impossible without digital skills that workers and employees must possess in order to be able to carry out their activities," said the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy Prof. Emil Mingov. "The future, especially with the advance of artificial intelligence, will increasingly require the improvement of digital skills if the worker or employee wants to keep his job," he added.
According to the Human Resources Development Program (2021-2027), a resource of BGN 400 million has been earmarked for training for the acquisition of digital skills, Tsvetan Spasov announced. A project with a budget of BGN 390 million will also be implemented under the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience. It is expected that over 700,000 Bulgarian citizens will undergo digital skills training in the next few years. "All of us are obliged to take timely measures to create or increase the digital skills of the workforce in order to be qualitative and competitive both at the European and global level," Spasov pointed out. According to him, without the close interaction between institutions and social partners, this task cannot be carried out.
The level of digital skills of Bulgarian citizens is critically low
According to Eurostat data, published by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria on the website of the trade union organization, our country ranks fourth in the EU (before Italy, Poland and Romania) in terms of the share of the population possessing basic digital skills - 23.4 %, compared to 27.5% on average for the EU. Only 7.8% of individuals have skills above basic (26.5% EU average). In terms of the share of persons without general digital competences, we are ahead of only Romania (10.13%) - in Bulgaria their share is 6.2%, and on average for the EU they are 3%. Bulgaria also leads the negative ranking in terms of the share of the population whose digital skills and competences cannot be assessed because they have not used the Internet in the last 3 months – 24.7% compared to the EU average of 11 percent.
According to the National Statistical Institute, about 13% of Bulgarians have never used the Internet, with 16% in the North-Western region and 7.6% in the South-Western region, adds the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria.
A study by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, carried out together with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria and the Ministry of Social Affairs, recently showed that if there is no effective system and accessible tools for skill development, if lifelong learning and improvement are not encouraged, one in three workers in of us will be at risk of falling out of the labor market due to deficits in digital competence.
The analysis of digital skills in 16 economic sectors in our country showed that only 19% of the workforce has digital competence for the position they hold. Against this backdrop, over 90% of jobs require specific types of digital skills.
According to the analyses, the accelerated entry of information technologies into life and the economy is increasing digital inequality. With the "migration" of public life to the virtual world, it increasingly leads to social isolation, lagging behind modern social trends and deterioration of the quality of life. There is inequality in access to the labor market, in suitability for employment and mobility, added the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria.
Challenges to lifelong learning and limited investment in training are also holding back EU efforts to close the digital skills gap by 2030, according to EU representatives and experts, who are calling for urgent support to upskill and reskill people of all ages. Under the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EU aims to ensure that at least 60% of all adults take part in training each year by 2030. In 2021, the proportion of adults who report taking part in education or training is averaged 10.8%, with the highest numbers in Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. The participation rate is lowest in Bulgaria and Romania.
According to a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, education remains low in many countries because of high prices and disparities in its quality, highlighting the need for more public investment in lifelong learning.
09.06.2023
JOB POSTINGS ROSE IN MAY
Job advertisements in May increased by 3 percent compared to April, and their number at the end of the month was just over 50,000.
On an annual basis, they are 12 percent less or by nearly 6,600 offers compared to May 2022. This is shown by the monthly analysis of the HR company and career site "JobTiger". The company states that it was May 2022 that recorded a record high number of job advertisements since the beginning of the pandemic until now.
Growth or maintenance of job offer levels was reported in most sectors with the exception of "Trade and Sales", where offers were 320 fewer than the previous month (-3 percent). An almost imperceptible decline is reported in the "IT" sector, where offers decreased by only 20 in May (-2 percent). On an annual basis, the offers in this sector have almost doubled (-47 percent, 3,600 offers less).
In the other sectors, the dynamics of job advertisements is as follows: "Logistics and transport" (460 offers more, 10 percent growth), "Manufacturing" (270 offers more, 4 percent growth), "Construction" (250 offers more , 11 percent growth), "Accounting, auditing, finance" (100 offers more, 5 percent growth) and "Marketing and advertising" (60 offers more, 4 percent growth).
The number of offers in the "Administrative and service activities", "Hospitality and catering" and "Health care and pharmacy" sectors remained unchanged from the previous month.
The share distribution of listings by sector remains similar to that of April. Leading are "Trade and sales" (23 percent), "Hotel and restaurant industry" (21 percent) and "Manufacturing" (14 percent), followed by "Administrative and service activities" (9.8 percent), " Logistics and transport" (9.6 percent), "IT" (8 percent), "Construction" (5 percent), "Accounting, audit, finance" (4.3 percent), "Health care and pharmacy" (4.2 percent), "Marketing and Advertising" (3 percent) and "Art" (1 percent).
Offers to work from home or telecommute continue to decline. The company's analysis shows that they were nearly 130 fewer in May, down 3 percent and making up about 3,780 of all offers. According to the distribution of these announcements by sector, "IT" leads with 59 percent, followed by "Administrative and service activities" (14 percent), the sectors of the outsourcing industry (14 percent) and "Trade and sales" (6 percent).
The total number of advertisements in the leading regional cities increased by 4 percent. The dynamics in each of them is as follows: Sofia (4 percent), Plovdiv (8 percent), Varna (6 percent), Burgas (1 percent), Ruse (-2 percent) and Stara Zagora (2 percent). In terms of share, the largest share are ads for Sofia (41 percent), and in the other cities Plovdiv and Varna (with 10 percent), Burgas (5 percent), Ruse and Stara Zagora (with 3 percent).
The number of job postings suitable for refugees continued to increase in May, increasing by 9 percent. The total number of this type of ads is over 3,300, which is 8 percent of all ads.
09.06.2023
PROJECTS ARE BEING RECRUITED UNDER THE FIRST TWO CALLS UNDER THE CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION PROGRAM "ROMANIA - BULGARIA" 2021-2027
Project proposals for the first two calls of the Interreg VI-A program "Romania - Bulgaria" 2021-2027 are submitted until September 11 this year. The first is for predetermined strategic projects and the second is an open call for competitive selection.
The planned strategic projects are aimed at reducing the risk of natural disasters and joint activities in the field of transport. They are: STREAM 2 to strengthen disaster response capabilities; Danube RISK for monitoring and preparing for emergency situations related to water pollution; DISMAR to improve navigation conditions on the Danube by installing a navigational route marking system, as well as a project in the field of rail connectivity aimed at station modernization and railway electrification.
The open call is within specific priorities 2.4 and 2.7 of the new EU cohesion policy - Green, low-carbon transition to a net zero carbon economy and a sustainable Europe. More than €9 million is earmarked for projects meeting the specific objective of promoting climate change adaptation, disaster risk prevention and improving resilience. Another 35 million euros will be directed to projects to improve the protection and preservation of nature, biodiversity and green infrastructure, including in urban areas, as well as reducing pollution. European funding is 80% and the remaining 20% is national funding and own contribution. The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, as a National Authority, provides 18% of the national co-financing, and the beneficiaries must provide 2% of their own contribution.
Detailed information on the conditions for participation and the submission of application forms in the Jems electronic system can be found on the program page: https://interregviarobg.eu/en
08.06.2023
PART-TIME MINIMUM WAGE
Undoubtedly, the controversy surrounding the size of the minimum wage raises the question of whether the lowest paid workers have really felt a tangible increase in their living standards over the past decade?
Should the increase in the minimum wage be counted as a kind of merit of the trade union organizations and are the complaints of the employers' organizations that their views on the amounts are not taken into account, or at least not sufficiently?
Where economic interests are conflicting, it is difficult to reach a complete understanding. Employers' organizations assess the increase of the minimum wage as an unbearable burden for business and insist on more transparent rules for determining its amount. According to them, the increase of the minimum wage does not correspond to the growth of the gross domestic product, it puts the border between the minimum and the average unreasonably close wages for the country and may force a number of, mostly small and medium enterprises, to start layoffs.
It is logical that if an employer cannot afford to pay the increased minimum wage to its workers, it will look for mechanisms to reduce its labor costs by getting rid of some of its employees.
As counterarguments in support of increasing the minimum wage, the need to guarantee a decent wage and increase the purchasing power of the population is usually pointed out. The step-by-step increase in the minimum wage should also guarantee a sustainable increase in the standard of living.
Supporters of the idea of a faster increase in the minimum wage, led by trade unions, remind that the minimum wage is not received in the so-called "net amount", but deductions are made from it for taxes and insurance.
If the clearest example of a worker or an employee without previous work experience in the same or similar position is taken as an illustration (i.e. without additional labor remuneration for acquired work experience and professional experience): from BGN 780 minimum wage close to BGN 175 will be deductions at the expense of the employee. In other words, this income really only guarantees a minimum standard of living for physical survival. After all, not only is the minimum wage as an absolute amount insufficient to cover the needs of individuals, but also the tax and insurance burden is high, which further aggravates their situation.
Despite all the disputes, the law still allows the negotiation of wages below the national minimum wage in some cases, such as part-time work. It may be agreed upon between the parties at the time of the employment relationship or subsequently, with an additional agreement. Part-time work can also be introduced unilaterally by the employer as a specific "anti-crisis" measure when reducing the volume of work for a period of up to three months in a calendar year.
The lower limit of remuneration will be determined proportionally to the minimum wage for full-time work, for example, when working 4 hours - 1/2 of the minimum wage, etc.
Contracts for additional work and for work on certain days of the month usually do not constitute a main source of income for the worker or employee. The shorter duration of their work is also reflected in a lower minimum wage.
A special case is the contract for on-the-job training, under which the employer undertakes to train the worker or employee in the course of work in a certain profession or specialty, and the worker or employee - to master it. During the training period, the worker or employee receives labor remuneration according to the work performed, but not less than 90 percent of the minimum wage established for the country. The social justification of this legislative decision is in the lack of experience of the person doing the work, which usually makes his work less valuable from the employer's point of view.
Reference:
Art. 110, 111, 114, 138 and 138a, 230 of the Labor Code
08.06.2023
WHAT ARE THE MAIN PROBLEMS OF BUSINESS IN OUR COUNTRY?
Lack of qualified personnel, dissatisfaction with the results in the fight against corruption and crime, as well as with regard to political and social stability in our country, are among the main problems indicated by business representatives in a survey on the business environment in Bulgaria, conducted by the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
A shortage of skilled labor was cited by companies as one of the biggest risks over the next 12 months at 66 percent, followed by labor costs at 61 percent, electricity prices at 45 percent and the economic policy framework at 42 percent.
When asked about the impact of the shortage of qualified personnel on business, 63 percent of respondents indicated the increase in labor costs, 45 percent noted that it will decrease production and supply of services. To mitigate the effects of the shortage of qualified personnel, 74 percent of companies intend to expand the scope of their in-house training, 59 percent to increase digitalization, 55 percent anticipate increasing wages above the market average, 49 percent are considering strengthening their cooperation with educational institutions .
Regarding the cost of labor, 42 percent of companies say they are satisfied or very satisfied. Only 14 percent are satisfied with the quality of academic education and 15 percent with the quality of professional education, the poll shows.
In connection with solving the problem of the lack of personnel in our country, Mitko Vassilev said that the Management Board of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce has decided that the Chamber will prepare and implement various initiatives this year and next year, dedicated to the focal topic " Specialists and talents for prosperity and growth".
The data also show that 17 percent of the respondents assess the current economic situation in Bulgaria as good, 68 percent define it as satisfactory. 25 percent of the companies believe that the development of the Bulgarian economy will improve this year compared to the previous one, 52 percent do not expect any change.
84 percent of respondents say they are very dissatisfied or dissatisfied with the fight against corruption and crime, and much more is needed.
In the assessment of the factors "legal certainty" and "transparency of public procurement", "rather dissatisfied" and "very dissatisfied" are respectively 53 percent and 75 percent of those who participated in the survey.
According to the poll, trust in public administration remains unchanged from 2022, where 11 percent are satisfied. 51 percent say they are very dissatisfied with the political and social stability in our country. Regarding the factor "predictability of economic policy", the level of satisfaction is 7 percent "satisfied" and 28 percent "average satisfied", the poll shows. Regarding the "tax burden" criterion, 70 percent are satisfied.
The survey shows even greater satisfaction of companies with Bulgaria's membership in the EU - 86 percent. The positive attitude towards the introduction of the single European currency is also increasing - 81 percent of the respondents answered that they want the introduction of the euro compared to 55 percent in 2022. 94 percent of the companies approve of our country's accession to Schengen.
