The labor market in Bulgaria remained almost unchanged in September. Employers published 37,251 job postings compared to 37,267 in August, which is a decrease of only 16 offers, or about 0.04%.
After the growth of nearly 6% reported in August, no new increase was observed. JobTiger defines September as a “month of retention, rather than a clear growth or decline“. On an annual basis, however, the picture remains weaker - the announcements are about 9.5% fewer, or approximately 3,900 offers below the level of September 2025.
Trade increases the demand for employees
The almost unchanged total number conceals various movements by sector. The most significant growth among the large categories is in “Trade and sales“, where 683 more announcements were reported compared to August. This is an increase of 7.4%.
There are also more vacant positions in “Marketing and advertising“ - by about 8.7%, in “Human resources“ - by nearly 8%, and in “Healthcare and pharmacy“ - by 2.4%. In “Administrative and service activities“ and “Construction“ the number of offers remains almost unchanged.
The end of the summer season shrinks the advertisements in tourism
The strongest monthly decline is reported in “Hotel and restaurant“ - about 5.7%. JobTiger connects part of the decrease with the end of the summer season. There is also a decrease in “Accounting, audit, finance“ - about 3%, in “Manufacturing“ - about 1.2%, and in the IT sector - about 1%.
Trade and sales remain the largest category with about 27% of all advertisements. This is followed by manufacturing with about 18%, hotel and restaurant with about 13% and administrative and service activities with about 11%. On an annual basis, the most significant decline is in the IT sector - about 22%.
Sofia increases its share, remote work recovers
In the six major cities monitored by JobTiger, the total number of advertisements increased by about 1% compared to August. In Sofia, the growth was about 4%, in Stara Zagora - about 2%, and in Burgas the number almost did not change. In Plovdiv, offers decreased by about 3%, in Varna - by about 6%, and in Ruse - by about 5%.
Sofia collects about 40% of all advertisements in the country, Plovdiv - about 10%, and Varna - about 7%. In September, 2,533 offers for remote work and work from home were published - about 2.5% more compared to August, but nearly 25% less compared to a year earlier. They represent about 7.3% of all observed ads, with about 44% in the IT sector.