site.bta28% of Employers Plan Staff Increase in Next Six Months, 22% Contemplate Cuts, Says Employment Confederation

Some 28% of employers in Bulgaria plan to increase payrolls until March 2026, another 22% contemplate workforce cuts, and 38% will keep the number of their employees, the Bulgarian Employment Confederation (BEC) found in its ninth nationwide survey of employers' staffing plans, published on its website this week. The survey shows optimism on the labour market despite economic challenges, said the BEC, which is a non-profit organization that brings together the leading HR services companies in this country.

Thus, the net employment coefficient, which represents the difference between the share of employers expecting to increase staff levels and the percentage of those forecasting to decrease them, stands at +6 percentage points (pp), increasing by 3 pp compared with the previous six months.

The report is based on the expectations of 1,017 employers in 12 industries.

"Considering that the economy needs at least 300,000 more workers, it is interesting that only 23% of the employers we have polled have hired, or plan to hire, workers from third countries. This clearly shows that Bulgaria needs to devise a targeted migration policy, a clear national strategy and legislation to facilitate and speed up the process of attracting specialists from abroad," BEC Chair Nadia Vassileva said.

The IT sector shows the highest growth (+23 pp) in expectations to recruit more staff between October 2025 and March 2026 compared with the previous six months, followed by the manufacturing industries (+18 pp), wholesale and retail trade (+16 pp), and finance and insurance, real estate and business services (+14 pp).

More moderate growth was reported in the hotel and restaurant business (+9 pp), construction (+8 pp), outsourcing (+7 pp), transport, storage and communications (+6 pp), the public and social sector (+3 pp), and electricity, gas and water (+1 pp).

Vassileva commented: "The coming months will bring growth for a number of industries. To stay competitive, talents should invest in new skills, particularly in the field of AI and new technologies. In a world of constant change, flexibility and adaptivity are the most valuable skills."

Among a total of five statistical regions, staff enlargement plans until March 2026 are most ambitious in Sofia and Plovdiv, where the respective employment coefficients are +65 pp and +17% pp. In Varna and Burgas (both +8 pp) forecasts were lowered by 4 pp and 2 pp, respectively, compared with the previous six months. In Ruse (+2 pp) the level remains unchanged.