Bulgaria is one of the EU countries with the most drastic growth in youth unemployment. Eurostat data for the month of March show that, on an annual basis, the number of unemployed youth in our country under the age of 25 has increased by over 46%.
Thus, from 13,000 in March, 2023, there are already 19,000 people, and their share has grown from 9.7 to 16%. Total unemployment for March 2024 in the EU is 6%, 6.5% - for the Eurozone. And the data in Bulgaria in March is 4%, against 4.2% for March 2023, Nova TV reminded.
According to Nadya Vasileva, chairwoman of the Bulgarian Employment Confederation, there are several reasons for unemployment. "The most decisive are the economic factors - not having a job. However, this is not the case in our country. The other factors are related to the nuance between personal life and work, young people enjoy everything that their parents offer them - so they do not need to work. There are also young people who work on separate freelance projects," she noted.
For his part, Hristiyan Petkov, operations manager at a job search site, pointed out that youth unemployment has been increasing in recent years.
"We have growth, but it's not scary because there's a workforce that just can't be fully engaged right now. The hotel and restaurant industry accounts for half of the job offer for young people, so a large part of their choice is there," he commented.