02.05.2023
OVER 20% OF BULGARIANS WERE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE IN THE PAST YEAR
In 2022, the total poverty line for the country is BGN 525.92 per household member per month. With this size of the poverty line, 1.5719 million people, or 22.9% of the country's population, were below the poverty line, according to data from the National Statistical Institute.
Compared to the previous year, the size of the poverty line increased by 4.3% from BGN 504.33 in 2021, and the relative share of the poor population in Bulgaria increased by 0.8 percentage points compared to 22.1% a year earlier.
The social protection system is essential for reducing poverty.
Data for 2022 show that if pension income is included in household income, but other social transfers (benefits, social and family allowances and supplements) are excluded, the poverty rate rises from 22.9 to 30.3% , or by 7.4 percentage points within a year.
When pensions and other social transfers are excluded, the poverty level rises to 44.2%, or by 21.3 percentage points.
The main factor increasing the risk of falling into the group of poor for the majority of the population is their economic activity and their participation in the labor market.
Over the entire observation period, the relative share of the poor is highest among the unemployed (56.9% for 2022), with the risk of poverty for unemployed men being 3.3 percentage points higher than for unemployed women. also show the data of the National Statistical Institute.
In 2022, the share of the poor among employed persons in the age group 18 - 64 years remains unchanged compared to the previous year - 10%, and the risk of falling into poverty among those working part-time is approximately three times higher than that among those working full time. At the same time, the risk of poverty among working women is 3.2 percentage points lower than that of men.
The level of education has a significant impact on the risk of poverty among employed persons, the survey of national statistics shows.
The relative share of the working poor with primary and no education is the highest - 68.5%. As the level of education increases, the relative share of the working poor decreases by two times for persons with primary education and more than seven times for persons with secondary education. The share of the working poor with higher education is the lowest - only 3.2%.
Estimates of poverty by household type show that the relative share of the poor is highest among single-person households with a person over the age of 65, reaching 61.3% in 2022, as well as with a single person in a household - a woman (56.2% for 2022). Among single-person households, the risk of poverty for women is 21.9 percentage points higher than for men. If there is one person over 65 living in the household, the risk of poverty is 35.4 percentage points higher than a household with one person under 65 living.
In 2022, the highest relative share of the poor among persons self-identified from the Roma ethnic group - 63.2%, and the lowest - among persons self-identified from the Bulgarian ethnic group - 17.3%.
28.04.2023
REGISTERED UNEMPLOYMENT IN BULGARIA WAS 5.4% IN MARCH
In the month of March, the Employment Agency reports 152,230 registered unemployed, which is 3,298 persons or 2.1% less than in February. With this number, the level of registered unemployment in March was 5.4%, which is 0.1 points lower compared to the previous month and compared to March 2022.
The number of newly registered unemployed in March increased by 1,898 compared to February 2023. According to the reported data, they were 20,096 persons, with a decrease of 1,451 persons on an annual basis. Another 597 people from the groups of jobseekers employed, students and pensioners also registered with the employment offices during the month. In March, labor mediators - Roma and youth mediators managed to activate a little over 1,700 inactive persons for registration at the labor offices.
During the month, 17,189 vacancies were reported in the labor offices on the primary market, which is a decrease of 0.8% compared to March 2022. The most vacancies in the real economy were reported in the hotel and restaurant industry (23.8%). manufacturing (21.2%), followed by government (11.2%), trade (9.4%), agriculture, forestry and fisheries (8.0%) and administrative and support activities (5.0%).
The most sought-after occupations by businesses in March are: personnel employed in the field of personal services; staff caring for people; sellers; workers in agriculture, forestry and fisheries; workers in the mining and processing industries, construction and transport; machine operators of stationary machinery and equipment; drivers of motor vehicles and mobile equipment; waste collection and related workers; metallurgists, machine builders and related workers, and artisans; food preparation assistants, etc.
An increase in the number of unemployed people who started work in March reports the administrative statistics of the Employment Agency. In the third month of the year, they were 16,107 - 2,911 more than in February 2023. 429 pensioners, students and employed persons also found work through the employment offices.
The largest share of those who started working in the processing industry sector - 18.2%, followed by those in trade - 13.2%, hotels and restaurants - 9.6%, state administration - 8.9%, agriculture, forestry and fisheries -8.3%, human health care and social work - 5.5%, construction 5.1% and others.
In March, 1,517 unemployed people from the risk groups were assigned to subsidized jobs - 97 under employment programs and measures and 1,420 - under schemes of the Operational Program "Human Resources Development". A total of 383 unemployed and employed people have been included in various trainings, and 80 people have completed the training started in previous months, having acquired a new profession or key competence.
27.04.2023
BARDAROV: IN 2050, THE ROMA WILL BE 1.1-1.2 MILLION OUT OF A TOTAL POPULATION OF ABOUT 5 MILLION IN THE COUNTRY
The battle in the 21st century will not be for resources, such as food, but for an active population.
This is what Prof. Dr. Georgi Bardarov, specialist in demography, ethno-political conflicts, geography of population and settlements, geodemography and geo-urban studies, says for BTA. He is a teacher and deputy dean at the Faculty of Geology and Geography of Sofia University.
Societies, not only in Bulgaria, are aging rapidly and very soon there will be a fierce battle for the attraction of human resources all over the world, says Bardarov. According to him, there is no way to deny that the demographic crisis in our country is very serious, but it is not hopeless and it is impossible to make predictions in which year the last Bulgarian will disappear. His position is that apocalyptic calculations should not be made, because demographically things can quickly turn around, albeit with a delayed effect.
"For example, in 1989 there were forecasts that by the year 2000, Bulgaria would have a population of between 9.5 and 10 million people, and we were under 8 million", pointed out Bardarov.
According to him, things are always reversible, both in a negative and in a positive direction, the question is what the state policy will be.
According to him, the big problem for our country is that emphasis is placed on things that cannot be influenced and therefore there are no results. In our country, when we talk about demography, the focus is mainly on the birth rate, but this is a wrong approach, Burdarov believes. He recalled that this problem applies to the entire developed world, it is dictated by objective factors and will not change in the foreseeable future. The average number of children born to a woman of childbearing age in the EU is 1.5, in Bulgaria it is 1.56, i.e. we are above the average level for Europe, the expert pointed out. The lowest birth rate in Europe is in Italy - 7.8 per thousand, the highest - in Eire - 12.8 per thousand, Bulgaria has 8.9 per thousand and is again in the middle, added Bardarov.
A total demographic change is coming
There is a theory about the demographic transition - that it goes through four phases, the expert said. The latter has low and equal birth and death rates, zero natural growth, which at some point turns to negative natural growth, Bardarov explained.
According to him, the developed world is currently in this fourth phase, but other regions of the world will also gradually enter it. Burdarov's prediction is that in about 40-50 years what is currently happening in Europe will happen all over the world.
When asked what happens after the fourth phase, the expert explained that for now there is no continuation of the theory.
His personal opinion as a demographer is that there will be extremely critical birth rates and extremely high life expectancy.
"It is possible that this is the Earth's natural way to reach an optimal number of population and then naturally the number of people will go down," says Bardarov.
However, according to him, in any case, a total demographic change is coming. In fact, it is already happening, Bardarov added.
He develops his theory in his new monograph, Globalization and New Demographic Patterns of the 21st Century, where he states that there are three entirely new demographic patterns. These are very low birth rates, increasingly outdated societies and the third pattern – global population displacement. It's not that there were no migrations in the past, for example the Great Migration of Peoples, but the scale at the moment is radically different, Burdarov explained. And he specified that, according to him, in the 21st century humanity is entering a completely new world in terms of demography and identity.
Even in China, there is already a shortage of human resources, of an active population, the expert said. According to him, this has become a fact in an artificial way, because of the model for one child in a family, but there is also an aging of society.
It is clear that migration flows have recently been heading towards Europe, added Bardarov.
According to him, for the first time in the history of the world there is such a pronounced flow from south to north, although in principle it is more logical to be from north to south, due to natural conditions. In general, however, according to the scientist, many of the upcoming processes can only be guessed, because the world is changing and will be radically different with technology, with digital nomads, with the fact that you can work from anywhere on the planet.
People will look for nature, tranquility and infrastructure
In the very near future, people will look for the most acceptable living conditions from the point of view of nature first, ecology and tranquility second, and infrastructure related to raising children, Bardarov added. According to him, societies that invest in these factors will attract an active population.
In our country, many are shocked when it is said that we should attract people of active age - educated and qualified, regardless of where, the expert added.
His position is the opposite, but he points out as a problem that we do not have the necessary infrastructure. Territories like Northwestern Bulgaria, with staggering rates of depopulation, cannot remain empty, Bardarov pointed out.
He also added that 42 percent of the population in our country in 2030 will live in the six largest cities in the country. The expert dismissed the grumbling against urbanization, pointing out that it is a global process.
The urban population in the world was 3 percent in the 19th century, and now it is 54-55 percent and will soon be 70 percent, Bardarov explained.
For him, the main problem is the assumption of uneven distribution, not that people go to the cities. As a good example, he gave Germany with its adequate regional policy, which prevents territories from being depopulated. In Bulgaria, the first thing that the state can and should do is to build social and road infrastructure, Bardarov explained.
He pointed out that there is no way to attract young families to the North-West if the nearest hospital is at least 60 kilometers away, there are no kindergartens, and the roads are dangerous.
There is no way for young people to go at the moment, so the state must first provide the necessary infrastructure, and then think about how to stimulate business in order to create jobs, the expert said.
He recommends a change in two things - in the administrative-territorial division of the country and in the pension system. Apart from the North-West, the Strandzha-Sakar region is also depopulated, added the expert. There are also serious demographic problems in in the region of Kyustendil, Breznik and Tran.
A major factor in reversing negative trends is education
When asked whether there could be a reversal of the negative trends, the expert indicated that, for him, the main factor for this is education.
It is a fact that the more educated a person is, the lower his reproductive attitudes are, explained Bardarov.
According to him, the state cannot help to raise the birth rate, but it can take care of the increase of the young, active, educated population - to stay in our country, work, live and give birth to children here, and not in other countries. Our education must be adequate to the modern world, the expert pointed out. According to him, many quality people work in our educational system, but it simply does not correspond to the current times.
As an example, he gives his work at the university, where he used to give knowledge and information to students, but today they rely on their phones for that. "I can't give them information, I have to tell them how to interpret it, analyze it, how to use it," the teacher pointed out.
There is a seven-step program for the demographic restart of Bulgaria and it requires change in all spheres, Burdarov also said. Among the steps is a proactive migration policy, which includes three things. The first is to create conditions for these young people who are currently in Bulgaria to want to live in Bulgaria, Burdarov explained. As a second necessity, he pointed out to actively work with the Bulgarians who are abroad, especially with the diasporas in Ukraine and Bessarabia. The third point is the attraction of migrants from third countries, Bardarov added. And he emphasized that it doesn't matter where people come from, the important thing is that they are educated and qualified and at an active age.
In addition to the migrant policy of the country, Bardarov also touches on the issue of the Roma in our country and the need for their integration.
No one wants to talk about it because the issue is very difficult and even politically bound, the expert pointed out.
There are about 800,000 Roma at the moment, they will be and will live in this territory, so if we don't start working with them today, tomorrow we will have problems, and not just unsolved, but unsolvable problems, said Bardarov.
He recalled that out of 800,000 Roma, 0.5 percent have higher education, and 9 percent on average. This means that over 90 percent of them have less than a high school education, in a world where computer literacy is required for even the most basic of jobs.
And he added that according to forecast data, in 2050, this group will be 1.1-1.2 million people out of the country's total population of about 5 million. If then the Roma have the same educational structure, it means 1 million people inactive on the labor market, Bardarov emphasized.
He himself worked on a project in Straldzha, which integrated Roma in school.
In one year, we achieved a real increase in school attendance by 40 percent of the children, Bardarov pointed out.
And he clarified that the project is not based on his know-how, but an adaptation of a foreign model. It is not a panacea, but it is important that there are working mechanisms, as well as communities among the Roma who are willing to integrate and educate themselves, the expert explained.
And he summarized that the most important thing is to work, and not to raise one's hands and only grumble that nothing is happening.
26.04.2023
HOW WE ARE RETURNED FEES IN CASE OF DELETED SENIOR SERVICE
Often, employees of the National Social Security Institute issue mandatory prescriptions for the deletion of insurance experience in the case of discovered violations and attempts at unjustified use of insurance rights. Therefore, we present the position of the National Revenue Agency on how in these cases a refund of paid taxes and insurance can be requested.
The National Social Security Institute issues a mandatory prescription for deleting the social security experience of a self-insured citizen (deletion of data submitted with declaration form No. 1), which was confirmed by a decision of the Supreme Administrative Court. The reason for this was violations discovered by the National Social Security Institute. The questions were asked:
By application of insurance legislation:
The control bodies of the National Social Security Institute issue mandatory prescriptions for compliance with the provisions of the state social insurance. On the basis of Art. 16 of Ordinance No. H-13 of December 17, 2019 on the content, terms, method and order of submission and storage of data by employers, insurers for persons insured by them, as well as self-insured (Ordinance No. H-13/17.12.2019) the control of compliance with the regulation is carried out by the National Revenue Agency and the National Social Security Institute.
Pursuant to Art. 9, Para. 5 of Regulation No. H-13/17.12.2019, declarations under Para. 1 (including declarations model No. 1) are not submitted for correction and deletion of data after April 30 of the year , following the year to which they relate. After this period, declarations are submitted only in electronic or paper form after the permission of the National Revenue Agency or the National Social Security Institute in connection with the activities assigned to them.
Article 4, paragraph 10, item 6 of Ordinance No. H-13/17.12.2019 states that the National Social Security Institute also submits data for those issued under Article 108, paragraph 1, item 3 of the Code for Social Security and mandatory prescriptions entered into force, when the prescriptions are for submitting data under Article 5, Paragraph 4, Item 1 of the Social Security Code, including after the deadline under Article 8, Paragraph 1, Item 4. The data under para. 10, item 6 shall be submitted electronically within three days from the entry into force of the prescription in accordance with the procedure determined by an instruction under art. 23 of the Law on the National Revenue Agency (art. 4, para. 14 of the Ordinance No. H-13/17.12.2019).
Therefore, after the entry into force of the mandatory prescriptions issued by the control bodies of the National Social Security Institute, the citizen can submit declarations model No. 1 for deletion of data.
On the basis of Article 9, paragraph 10 of Ordinance No. H-13/17.12.2019, declaration form No. 6 submitted by persons under Article 4, paragraph 3, items 2, 4 and 5 (including self-insured ), can be corrected until the deadline for its submission expires. After this period, declarations are submitted in paper form or in electronic form and paper form after the permission of the National Revenue Agency. Declaration form No. 6 is submitted with a correction code when the amount of a declared obligation is reduced. In this case, in addition to the corrected ones, all other data from the corresponding column of the previously submitted declaration are also filled in.
Self-insured persons determine the final amount of their monthly insurance income in accordance with Article 6, paragraph 9 of the Social Insurance Code - for the period during which work was carried out in the previous year based on the data declared in the Annual Tax Return Declaration under the Personal Income Tax Act, which cannot be less than the minimum insurable income and greater than the maximum insurable income. The annual insurance income is defined as the difference between the declared or established by the revenue authority under the conditions and according to the procedure of the Tax-Insurance Procedural Code taxable income from the exercise of labor activity and the sum of the incomes on which advance insurances have been paid.
When, with a corrective Annual Tax Declaration under Article 50 of the Personal Income Tax Act, the self-insured person declares taxable income in a smaller amount than the one already declared, he also fills in the Statement of the final amount of the insurance income in order to form a new annual Social Security income. If, after correction of the final amount of the insurance income, the insurance payable by a self-insured person is less than the sum of the declared with declaration form No. 6 and the advance and final insurance contributions paid by him, the difference appears to have been unreasonably paid. In this case, the self-insured person should submit a corrective declaration form No. 6 according to the order described above.
In order to submit corrective declarations form No. 6, with which to erase the formed obligations under the already submitted declarations form No. 6 for previous years, he should request permission from the National Revenue Agency.
The procedure for the refund of unduly paid amounts, subject to refund and collected by the National Revenue Agency, is regulated in art. 128-130 of the Tax-Insurance Procedural Code. Withholding and refunding can be done after submitting a request to the National Revenue Agency, to which supporting documents should be attached.
By application of tax legislation:
When making corrections to already filed annual tax returns under Article 50 of the Law on Personal Income Taxes, the procedure for corrections of Article 53, Paragraph 2 of the Law on Personal Income Taxes shall apply. On this basis, upon detection of an error in the declared data and circumstances, the basis and the determined obligations after the legally established period, the taxable persons have the right, once until September 30 of the year following the year of acquisition of the income, to make changes by submitting new declaration.
When this deadline is not met and a correction of a declaration for previous tax years is required, there is an opportunity for correction in accordance with Art. 103, para. 1 and 2 of the Tax-Insurance Procedural Code.
The person should make a request to the revenue authorities to allow a correction of an annual tax return and indicate the reasons for this.
Pursuant to Art. 103, in the event of inconsistencies between the content of the submitted declaration and the requirements for its completion or inconsistencies between the data in the declaration and the data received by the revenue authorities from third parties or administrations, in accordance with the requirements of the tax and insurance legislation for submitting declarations or information, except for the cases under Art. 101, para. 4 and Art. 102, para. 4, the sender is invited to remove the inconsistencies within 14 days of receiving the message. Inconsistencies are rectified by submitting a new declaration.
Given the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, the citizen has the opportunity to request the correction of an annual tax return and a refund of the tax paid, provided that the statute of limitations has not expired.
The procedure for carrying out the withholding/reimbursement is described in Article 129, Paragraph 1 of the Tax-Insurance Procedural Code. The admissibility for its implementation is tied to a preclusion period, in which the request should be submitted. It is the same until the expiration of 5 years, starting from January 1 of the year following the year in which the reason for reimbursement arose, unless otherwise provided by law.
Regarding the merits of the request, the following should be considered:
The debtor's claims from the state are classified as private law, which is why the Law on Obligations and Contracts is applicable to them. Repayment of private law claims according to Article 110 of the Law on Obligations and Contracts takes place with the expiration of a 5-year statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations begins to run from the moment the claim became due and this is the entry into force of the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court.
26.04.2023
UNEMPLOYMENT IN VRATSA, VIDIN AND MONTANA HAS INCREASED
In two-thirds of the regions in Bulgaria, unemployment increased last year, according to the annual report of the Employment Agency.
Vidin region had the highest reported rate of unemployed last year – 14.1 percent compared to 12.3 a year earlier. Montana, Vratsa, Silistra also have over 10% unemployed.
The municipalities with the highest average annual unemployment rate - 4 times above the average last year - were Makresh - 71 percent, Dimovo - 58 percent, Ruzhentsi - 39 percent, and all three are in the Vidin region.
Those newly registered in the labor offices last year were 264,000. The largest number of them came from the "Services" sector – 124,000. Statistics report that the long-term unemployed were 35,500 or one in four unemployed, such as in the regions of Vidin, Montana , Vratsa and Shumen they are the most.
There are 62,000 people over the age of 50 registered in the labor offices, nearly 5,000 of them in the Blagoevgrad region, 4,000 in Plovdiv and over 3,000 in Pleven, Pazardzhik and the capital.
25.04.2023
WHAT ARE THE HIGHEST PAID PROFESSIONS IN BULGARIA
Bulgaria remains the European member state with the lowest labor costs, but at the same time it is also the country in the EU with the fastest rate of increase in wages, according to data from the European Statistical Office Eurostat for 2022.
Where are the highest salaries?
The highest wages are received by those employed in the "Information and Communication Technologies" sector. On average, they already exceed BGN 4,400. They are followed by the "Energy" sector, where the average remuneration is over BGN 2,900.
Third in terms of wages are professions in the field of finance and insurance activities. Their gross salary for the last quarter of 2022 for Bulgaria is almost BGN 3,000. Those working in the mining industry are also among the best paid in the country - over BGN 2,400.
On the other side, the lowest paid are the employees in the hotel and restaurant industry. Their remuneration is between BGN 1,000 and 1,400. However, these are also the sectors with the highest share of the gray economy. In addition to them, those working in the "Water supply" sector also have low wages. sewerage services, waste management and remediation'. Their average gross salary is BGN 1,356. Compared to others, salaries in construction are also low - BGN 1,360 and in transport - BGN 1,486.
Almost BGN 1,500 is the remuneration in "Administrative and auxiliary activities". It is noteworthy that in the "Culture, sports and entertainment" sector there is an increase compared to the first quarter of 2022 - from 1,300 the average gross salary has become 1,600 BGN. The salary of those working with real estate is almost the same - 1,633 BGN.
In the "Public Administration" sector, the increase has also jumped significantly - from BGN 1,700 to BGN 2,240.
Over 2,500 BGN are received by those working in the field of "Professional activities and scientific research", the salary of those working in education is 2,165 BGN.
For 2022, salaries have increased by 16.6%
The average gross salary in the country has increased significantly in the last quarter of 2022 - by 16.6% compared to a year earlier or - the average gross monthly salary for October 2022 is BGN 1839, for November - BGN 1851, and for December – 1,947 BGN, according to data from the National Statistical Institute.
The growth is the highest since 2008 and comes amid rapidly rising consumer prices and a tight labor market that has left many employers short on workers. Thus, wage growth almost caught up with inflation, which in the months of October - December was around 17 - 18% on an annual basis.
The largest increase was in the economic activities "Agriculture, forestry and fisheries" - by 23.4%, "Production and distribution of electric and thermal energy and gaseous fuels" - by 23.1%, and "Other activities" - by 22.1%.
In the "Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries" sector, the remuneration at the beginning of 2022 was slightly over 1000, and at the end it amounted to over 1300.
Regional inequalities
The data of the National Statistical Institute also note the regional inequalities in pay. For example, in the last quarter the average salary in Sofia exceeded BGN 2,500, while the national average was BGN 1,947 (gross). The difference is nearly 40%.
In all other regions, average wages remain below the national average.
After the COVID-19 pandemic
The Institute for Market Economy thoroughly researched the average gross monthly salary of employed persons in the 265 municipalities of the country - this includes both those employed in the private and public sectors. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the year of recovery, it turns out that salaries in the Chelopech municipality were the highest for the whole of Bulgaria - BGN 2,930 (average gross monthly salary). In second place is the average salary of Kozloduy municipality (BGN 2,431), followed by Pirdop municipality (BGN 2,205) and Stolichna municipality (BGN 2,144).
In fifth position is the Radnevo energy center (2040 BGN), and the top 10 in the country is completed by Galabovo (1985 BGN), Devnya (1947 BGN), Panagyurishte (1860 BGN), Elin Pelin (1745 BGN) and Bozhurishte (1717).
For another year, the highest salaries in the country are in small municipalities with large employers - the leaders are the municipalities in the Middle Mountains, on whose territory there is a developed mining and related processing industry, as well as in municipalities with very large enterprises in the energy sector, the authors comment of the study.
24.04.2023
THE LABOR MARKET IN BULGARIA IS TIGHT AND UNCERTAIN IN THE COMING MONTHS
The labor market in Bulgaria in the coming months until autumn will be tight and uncertain. This is indicated by the results of the latest forecast survey of the Bulgarian Employment Confederation, which covers the period April - September 2023.
Employers across the country share the most modest hiring plans since the survey began in 2021.
A third (27%) of the 1,099 companies surveyed plan to increase their workforce, down 16% from the previous six months and down 19% from the same period last year.
36% of employers expect to maintain the number of their employees, and 19% predict to reduce the staff, which is 5% more compared to the previous researched period.
About a fifth of managers (18%) are unsure whether to keep or fire employees, with their share at zero over the past six months. Thus, the net employment rate - the difference between employers who plan to reduce the workforce and those who forecast to increase it - is +8%, or a decrease of 21 percentage points compared to the previous period studied and 32 percentage points less in compared to the same period last year.
Employers in Sofia typically share the most optimistic hiring plans for the period April 2023 - September 2023 with an employment rate of +72%, an increase of two percentage points compared to the previous six months. Companies in Plovdiv and Burgas predict modest team expansion, with +9% and +8% of employers in these regions planning to hire new employees, respectively. In Ruse and Varna, the employment rate registered a drop of two percentage points and is, respectively, +3% and +8% for the next six months.
In terms of the twelve industries included in the Bulgarian Employment Confederation study, the forecasts of the Hospitality and Restaurant and Construction sectors report the largest increase of five percentage points compared to the previous study period, with +10% and +9% respectively from employers plan to hire new employees. By two percentage points, the plans of employers in the "Public and social sector" are increasing, where the employment rate is +7%. Employers in the Information Technology and Outsourcing sectors, which had the most optimistic hiring plans in the previous survey period, reported more modest forecasts for April - September and employment rates of +25% and +9%, respectively. In the sectors "Wholesale and retail trade", "Transport, warehousing and communications" and "Agriculture, forestry and fisheries" the employment rate was +9%, +7% and +3% respectively, which represents a decrease of one percentage point compared to the previous six months.
The rate of hiring employees in the sector "Electricity, gas and water" is maintained (+4), the employment rate in the sectors "Manufacturing" and "Financial and insurance activities, real estate and business services" increases by one percentage point and reaches +11% and +7%, respectively, and the Extractive Industry sector is the only one that forecasts a negative employment rate for the period until September.
According to Nadya Vasileva, chairperson of Bulgarian Employment Confederation, the processes that must start immediately, in parallel with the change of the labor legislation to be adequate to reality, are related to the digitalization of labor processes.
"Those wishing to join the work process should retrain en masse according to the needs of employers, attract the passive groups of desperate people who are not looking for work, and implement a targeted import of people from abroad," commented the specialist.
19.04.2023
HOW SMALL BUSINESSES CAN GET MONEY FOR TRADEMARK REGISTRATION
The Patent Office has announced a grant for small and medium-sized enterprises to protect intellectual property in 2023. Vouchers this year will cover up to 90 percent of the costs and almost all activities that SMEs need to carry out in the process of acquiring protection for their intellectual property property, with the maximum refund amount reaching 1,500 euros.
The Patent Office informs businesses that the EU Office for Intellectual Property foresees a new initiative to increase the budget of the Fund for small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU for 2023. The aim is to support businesses in increasing their competitiveness through better protection and use of intellectual property rights.
Voucher 1 will reimburse up to 90 percent of the cost of intellectual property pre-diagnosis services up to €1,350 (subject to applicable national costs for that service, with a maximum service cost of €1,500). This would allow SMEs to take full advantage of the scan of their IP portfolio and still have the funds to apply for additional IP rights following the recommendations of the IP scan report.
Voucher 2 will cover trademark and design registration at national, regional, European and international level for a maximum of €1,000. The recovery rate will remain at 75 percent for trademarks and designs filed at the national, regional and European level and 50 percent for trademarks and designs filed at the international level.
Voucher 3 for national and European patents, which will extend the possibility of reimbursement of fees for national and European patent filing and prior art research. The amount of the grant and the reimbursement rate are also increased to €1,500 and 75 percent, respectively.
Voucher 4, which will cover 50 percent of the fee for electronic submission of applications for plant varieties at EU level (€225). By providing financial support for the registration of plant varieties, the SME Fund will support SMEs involved in the green and digital transition, while supporting the objectives of the EC Green Deal. There will be no performance period for this voucher as only the application fee will be eligible for refund.
There are two significant changes for 2023 – an increase in the budget and a shorter activation period for each of the four vouchers, reduced to two months with the possibility of extending it to four months. This would help to optimize the implementation of the budget by allowing a faster release of unused funds to SMEs.
A total of 10,350 SMEs applied for funding from the SME Fund, submitting 10,532 applications. Of these, 795 are for voucher 1, and 10,419 for voucher 2.
There were 23,927 intellectual property reimbursement inquiries (intellectual property diagnostics - IP Scan, trademarks and designs). 8,390 small and medium-sized enterprises have received approval.
The total number of SMEs that applied was 351, which entered 355 applications. Those approved under Voucher 1 (IP-Scan) are 31, and under Voucher 2 (trademark and design) are 348. By type of enterprise: 281 are micro and 55 are small. According to the focus of the company: there are 154 startups, 105 representatives of international companies.
19.04.2023
HOW TO REFUSE AN OFFER TO TERMINATE AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT BY MUTUAL CONSENT
The law in our country states that regardless of whether they are fixed-term or open-ended, all types of employment contracts can be terminated by mutual agreement. In practice, even employers (and often employees) prefer to terminate employment contracts with their employees by mutual agreement.
For employers, this is the most profitable option for terminating employment, because in this way they owe the worker or employee less benefits. Also, let's not forget that the termination procedure by mutual consent is the fastest and easiest from an administrative point of view.
On the other hand, when someone's contract is terminated on this basis, they can, in extremely rare cases, successfully win a potential lawsuit against their employer when they choose to contest the termination.
In many cases, employers offer their subordinates a ready-made termination form, which is designed as an agreement to terminate their relationship by mutual consent, and employees do not know what to do to refuse. What are the options for this and what rights do people have?
First of all, you should know that you should read all the details in the documentation - the reason for the dismissal, the legal basis, the notice periods, the benefits you are charged, etc. Also note that you are not required to sign the documents right away.
Ask the officer to allow you time to familiarize yourself with the documents. If you do not feel sure that you understand what is written in the documents, be sure to consult a person who is familiar with the matter to explain in detail what follows in each case.
The proposal and agreement to terminate the contract must be in writing and the agreement must be received by the party making the proposal within 7 days of receiving the request. This means that you have the right within 7 days to consider your decision. If the procedure for this is not followed, the termination of the employment contract will be outside the legal norms.
Since it is a matter of termination by mutual consent, it follows that it is sufficient not to write the offer, which will be quite sufficient to make your refusal. There are no additional requirements in law to provide reasoned answers as to why you did not accept this offer. If someone tries to pressure you and make it difficult with such demands, then you should know that this action on their part is absolutely illegal.
The same applies to employers, when the initiative to terminate the contract by mutual agreement is on the part of the worker or the employee - there is no requirement that the employer immediately decide on the proposal made, and there is no reason to ask him for reasons in case of a possible refusal to accept.
In cases of lack of any response from any of the parties, this is tantamount to tacit refusal. If one of the parties agrees to the termination, but wants the termination of the contract to be on a different date, it is again not considered a mutual agreement.
Reference:
Art. 325, para. 1, item 1 of the Labor Code
18.04.2023
COMPANIES ARE NO LONGER LOOKING FOR IT PROFESSIONALS
Companies are less and less looking for IT specialists. Job postings in this sector continue to decline for the sixth month in a row, data from JobTiger show. For March, there were 460 fewer offers, an 8% drop, for such positions. Over the year, the drop in IT specialist listings is 43% or 3,450 fewer offers than in March 2022.
At the end of last month, companies posted about 52,000 job offers on the leading sites. Their number has increased by 11% compared to the previous month of February. On an annual basis, offers are 1,200 fewer (-1%).
In almost all sectors there is an increase in advertisements. The only exception is the "IT" sector, the company reports.
The announcements in the "Accounting, audit, finance" sector are almost unchanged. Despite reporting a 0.5% drop, there were only 15 fewer listings than the previous month.
The ads in the "Hospitality and restaurant" sector continue to show the greatest growth. They are 2,670 more than in February, which is an increase of 36%, and their total number in March is 10,000.
Following it in terms of growth are the sectors "Trade and sales" (1770 offers more, 17% growth), "Manufacturing" (590 offers more, 8% growth), "Administrative and service activities" (480 offers more, 10% growth) , "Logistics & Transportation" (400 more offers, 9% growth), "Construction" (190 more offers, 7% growth), "Marketing & Advertising" (100 more offers, 7% growth) and "Healthcare & Pharmacy" (60 offers more, 3% growth).
Share distribution
As a share, the first place in terms of number of job advertisements is the sector "Trade and Sales" with 22%, followed by "Hospitality and Restaurant" (18%) and "Manufacturing" (15%).
Followed by the sectors "Administrative and service activities" (11%), "Logistics and transport" (9%), "IT" (8%) "Construction" (5%), "Accounting, audit, finance" (4.4%), "Healthcare and Pharmacy" (3.8%), "Marketing and Advertising" (3%) and "Art" (1%).
Work from home
According to the analysis, offers for working from home and/or telecommuting continue to decline. In March, there was a decrease of 5%, with their number being 4,380 (almost 250 less than the previous month). The main reason for the drop during the month in these ads is the decreasing number of offers in the "IT" sector.
The distribution of these offers by sector is: 58% in the "IT" sector, followed by "Administrative and service activities" (16%), the outsourcing industry sectors (14%) and "Trade and sales" (6%).
As a share, for the first time since the end of the pandemic, offers for work from home and/or telecommuting are less than 10% of all listings (9.7%).
Offer by city
The total number of advertisements in the leading regional cities increased by 8%. Growth is observed in each of them as follows: Sofia (5%), Plovdiv (6%), Varna (19%), Burgas (25%), Ruse (12%) and Stara Zagora (8%).
As a share, the ads for the city of Sofia are 41%, and in the other cities are: Plovdiv (10%), Varna (10%), Burgas (4%), Ruse (3%) and Stara Zagora (2%).
Ads suitable for refugees
The number of job postings suitable for refugees rose by 26% in February. The total number of this type of ads is about 3,000, which is a 6% share of all ads.
