This is one of the key conclusions of ManpowerGroup Bulgaria survey Salaries and Additional Benefits – Trends (SATR H2/2021) which analyzes the plans of employers from all sectors and regions in the country with respect to monthly salaries and bonuses for the next six months. Almost half (49%) of the surveyed 513 employers report that they expect to increase wages by up to 20%, two percent forecast a higher increase, and in most companies the change will apply to all employees regardless of their position.

‘It is really encouraging that less than one percent of the Bulgarian employers plan to reduce wages while every second company expects to increase them. An interesting trend to point out is that salary levels in the IT and Outsourcing sectors are becoming balanced in Sofia and across the country, a development which was caused to a great extent by the distance work options that turned into a standard practice during the last year,’ said Maria Stoeva, Sales&Business Development Manager, ManpowerGroup Bulgaria.

Worker shortage is one of the key reasons employers from different business sectors to plan salary increases in order to gain access to talent. A massive rise is expected in the sector with the biggest demand for specialists – Information Technologies, with 66% of the surveyed employers planning to increase wage levels. 49% of the Manufacturing sector employers share similar plans, 44% forecast increases in the Trade sector and 58% – in the Consultancy sector. Salary growth is also planned in the Tourism and Hotels, Healthcare and Pharma and Automotive sectors. In addition, the highest salary increases are expected in the regions of Sofia, Bourgas and Varna where employers forecast a rise between 10%-20%, as well as in Plovdiv where employers plan growth by up to 10%.

Regarding additional benefits, employers share more conservative plans as 76% do not forecast significant changes and 23% plan to add new perks to employees’ compensation packages or to increase the size of the current ones.

‘Due to COVID-19 increasingly more companies have started to offer remote work options for positions which allow such, as well as additional health services like psychological counseling. They both turned into highly desirable perks for job candidates, however, we should bear in mind that excellent working conditions, good work process organization and personalization of job proposals to workers’ expectations and needs keep being a priority for the talents who look for long-term career perspectives,’ added Maria Stoeva.

Salaries and Additional Benefits – Trends (SATR H2/2021) is the first study of a series of regular Manpower Bulgaria analyses surveying employers’ plans in this area. The surveys will be conducted semi-annually in order to identify employers’ expectations for the following six months.

About ManpowerGroup Bulgaria

ManpowerGroup Bulgaria is part of ManpowerGroup South-East Europe Cluster and one of the leaders on the Bulgarian market in contingent and permanent recruitment solutions, staff assessment, RPO and career consulting. With branches in Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas and Varna, ManpowerGroup Bulgaria has been providing organisations in the country with a continuum of staffing solutions for 12 years now, working with businesses from all industry sectors and giving them access to the people they need. In 2019 ManpowerGroup Bulgaria received special award “Recruitment Company with the Biggest Contribution to the Industry” from Automotive Cluster Bulgaria. Please find more information about ManpowerGroup Bulgaria at www.manpower.bg.