Registered unemployment in October was 4.3%, the Employment Agency said on Tuesday. After the end of seasonal employment, unemployment edged up 0.1 percentage points from September while on an annual basis it dropped by 0.4 percentage points.
There were 141,987 unemployed people registered at job centres in Bulgaria in October 2022, 3,607 more than September which had the lowest monthly unemployment level since records began at the Employment Agency.
Newly registered jobless persons in October 2022 numbered 25,482. That was 3,168 more than in September 2022 and 150 more than in October 2021.
A total of 12,846 people started work in October 2022. The largest number of those who found jobs started work in the manufacturing industries, 19%, followed by trade, 12.8%, the hotel and restaurant business, 6.7%, public administration, 6.3%, construction, 5.9%.
The agency further reported that 1,884 unemployed members of at-risk groups received subsidized jobs, as 1,477 began to work under temporary employment programmes, and 407 under the Operational Programme Human Resources Development.
The job vacancies on the primary labour market in October 2022 totalled 11,521. The highest job openings in the real economy were in the processing industries, 32.4%, followed by trade, auto- and motorcycle repairs, 12.8%, the hotel and restaurant business, 10.5%, education, 8.1%, etc.
The most sought-after professions by the business were machine operators of stationary machines; shop assistants, staff for personal services; workers in the extractive and processing industries, construction, transport, among others.