This initiative was directed for the first time towards employers who did not receive financial aid under national and European programmes. A total of 3,272 Bulgarians were employed at these companies with the mediation of the National Employment Agency. Most of the people were employed in the tourism field, the light industry, the metal-processing industry and the light machine-building. Most of the jobs in the tourism sector are temporary, i.e. after the end of the winter season the contracts of employment are cancelled. However, only three Bulgarians with disabilities were employed.

The National Employment Agency also awarded other companies which were beneficiaries under the Human Resources Development Operational Programme, which contributed to the improvement of the working conditions and organized various professional training courses. The two labor unions in Bulgaria - Podkrepa and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) also received insignia of honor. The Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association which is one of the five employer’s organizations in this country was also awarded at the event for its initiative aimed at organizing training courses for jobless Bulgarians. The courses organized by CITUB for landscape workers and hospital attendants, which are usually visited by people who look for employment abroad, are of a highest practical purpose.

However, the honorary diplomas handed out by the National Employment Agency, did not make the picture of the country’s labor market brighter. Of course, the state can not be blamed for this situation, because it is only a mediator at the labor market and the jobs are created mainly by the private sector.

According to recent data of the National Statistical Institute, nearly 360,000 Bulgarians are unemployed at the end of 2014, which stands for 10.8% of the active population. There are a total of 18,000 available job positions. The highest number of job vacancies is in the catering sphere, healthcare, state administration and the processing industry. The total number of employed Bulgarians amounts to nearly 3 million and the state employs over 23% of them.

Over half of all 18,000 available jobs were advertised by the National Employment Agency. The Bulgarian employers advertise vacancies for tailors and general workers and offer a minimum pay of EUR 180-200 per month, but also search to recruit highly-qualified experts in the IT and marketing fields. The remuneration for such positions fluctuates between EUR 500 and 1,200 which is a good pay in Bulgaria. However, most of the employers who advertise these positions require the knowledge of a rare language, or a combination of languages, most often between Macedonian, Russian and Polish. According to reliable sources, such job vacancies are formally advertised, but actually the job is kept for a foreign national and the company merely meets the requirement of the national law to advertise the vacancy at the National Employment Agency

English version: Kostadin Atanasov