Job vacancies have fallen by 12% in one month

Job vacancies in Bulgaria have fallen by 12% in just one month, with the decline affecting all major sectors. The sharpest contraction has been recorded in the hospitality and restaurant industry – with nearly a quarter fewer positions. The main reason is the end of the summer season, but there has also been a decrease in trade, construction and transport. The digital and IT sectors are also among the hardest hit.

By city, the biggest decline has been recorded in Burgas, where vacancies are down by 21%. Stara Zagora and Varna follow, while in Sofia and Plovdiv the decrease is around 13%. Nearly 154,000 people are registered as unemployed in the country.

Among them is Stanislav, who is looking for a job in his field and is ready to move to another location.

“I sincerely hope there is work here, something in my field. I tried in Vidin, but there was nothing in my field. I’m coming to Sofia to try,”

he says.

The IT sector feels the change

Employment offices are also reporting a decline in the number of jobs on offer. Liliya Tosheva, director of the “Vazrazhdane” Employment Office Directorate, says that fewer IT specialists are being sought due to the introduction of new technologies.

“There has been a slight decline. Mainly, fewer IT specialists are being sought in view of all the new technologies entering the market,”

Tosheva says. According to her, some people from the IT sector are seeking new qualifications, including in construction and finishing work.

Official data from the Employment Agency show a 4% decline in job vacancies compared with last year. The agency’s deputy executive director, Gabriela Goranova-Dimcheva, says that the contraction in the IT sector has continued for between two and a half and nearly three years.

“The introduction of artificial intelligence has also intensified these processes. There are no mass layoffs there. Rather, vacancies left by departing employees are not being filled, although there have also been some layoffs at individual companies,”

Goranova-Dimcheva says.

Fewer vacancies year-on-year

Staffing companies are reporting a 15% decline in vacancies over the year, with the most noticeable drop also occurring in the digital sector. The manager of an HR agency, Svetlozar Petrov, says that candidates have become more active in looking for jobs and submitting applications.

“People are starting to see that a crisis is coming, that it will be harder to find a job in the coming months, and they are becoming more active in their search,”

Petrov says.

According to Goranova-Dimcheva, the labour market remains relatively stable. She also cites Eurostat data, according to which Bulgaria is among the countries with the lowest unemployment in the European Union and is significantly below the average level for the bloc. At the same time, demand for seasonal workers in tourism, trade and construction is declining.

Source: nova.bg