Employers share moderate hiring plans for the April 2024 – September 2024 period in the sixth labor market survey of the Bulgarian Employment Confederation (BEC). Thirty-one percent of 1 189 surveyed companies forecast workforce growth, 36% expect to maintain the current number of employees, 15% plan to decrease their staff, and 18% are unsure whether they will retain or release personnel. Thus, the net employment rate — the difference between employers planning to decrease their workforce and those forecasting an increase, is +16% which is a growth of 6 percentage points compared to the previous six months and a decrease of 24 percentage points against the same period in 2022.

‘The main problem employers in the country face is the painful shortage of people. We are losing about ten people per hour, and nearly 30% of the population will retire in a few years. Both the government and organizations like ours have been making serious efforts to bring back at least a small part of the Bulgarians from abroad, but so far the results are not promising. We all have a lot of work ahead of us in this direction if we aim to normalize not only the labor market but the entire economy of Bulgaria,’ commented Nadia Vassileva, BEC chairperson.

Bourgas employers’ hiring plans for the next six months register the biggest increase — 4 percentage points, or an employment rate of +12%. Compared to the previous period, employers’ forecasts in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna improve by one percentage point each with employment rates reaching +66%, +11% and +10%, respectively. Rousse is the only region in the country where companies’ plans to increase their workforce register a decrease with the employment rate dropping from +6% to +1% for the April 2024 – September 2024 period.

The sectors in which employers share the biggest increase of hiring plans compared to the previous period are Hotels&Restaurants (a growth of 7 percentage points) and Retail Trade (an increase of 5 percentage points) with employment rates reaching +11% and +16%, respectively. In the IT and Outsourcing sectors, employers’ forecasts improve by three and one percentage points respectively, reaching employment rates of +24% and +13%. The forecast of +9% in the Finance&Insurance, Real Estate and Business Services sector remains unchanged, while all other sectors included in the survey — Manufacturing, Transport, Storage&Communication, Construction, Public&Social Sector, Electricity, Gas&Water, Agriculture, Forestry&Fishing and Mining, regiter a decrease compared to the previous six months. The decline is most significant in the Public&Social sector (6 percentage points), and the Mining sector is the only one forecasting a negative employment rate (-1%) for the April 2024 – September 2024 period.

‘The consequences of the chronic collision between the business and the shortage of personnel will continue to be felt not only throughout the upcoming summer season but at least until the end of September, unless the 17-point procedure for importing staff is eased and the permanently unemployed and often overlooked social groups are integrated into the labor market. I am optimistic that with the advancement of technology this could happen much faster than it seems,’ added Nadia Vassileva.

About the Bulgarian Employment Confederation

The Bulgarian Employment Confederation is a non-profit organization that brings together the expertise of the leading HR services companies in Bulgaria, combines creativity, innovativeness, modern digital solutions, adaptability and knowledge of the latest global trends in the human resources field. The confederation’s key objective is to form a sustainable partnership with all industry companies in order to build a healthier work environment in Bulgaria. We are not afraid to ask questions and pinpoint the problems of the job market and the labor legislation. This is how we strive to solve them and help the adequate functioning of the labor market: www.bec-bg.com