site.btaDecember Unemployment Rate at 5.19%, Down 0.04 Percentage Points Y/Y

Bulgaria's unemployment rate in December 2025 remained low at 5.19%, down 0.04 percentage points compared to the same month of 2024, the Employment Agency reported Friday. There were 147,059 registered unemployed persons in the country last year, with their number remaining below 150,000 for the second consecutive year at the end of December.

As a result of the active mediation of the labour offices, 8,839 unemployed started work in December, and an additional 745 employed persons, students, and pensioners received assistance in changing or developing their professional qualification, the Agency further reported. That brought the total number of people who found employment during the month to 9,584.

During the reporting period, more than 2,870 people were motivated to take their first steps towards entering the labour market thanks to the targeted work of the teams at labour offices, as well as the Roma and youth mediators in the country, the press release reads.

In December, 1,294 people from vulnerable groups started work under subsidized employment programmes, including people with disabilities, young people without professional experience, people over 55, and the long-term unemployed. Of these, 909 are included in projects funded by the Human Resources Development Programme 2021-2027, co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus.

During the month, over 7,200 vouchers were issued for training unemployed and employed persons.

According to the report, businesses posted 4,086 job vacancies in the primary labour market in December. The largest share of these were in manufacturing, education, public administration, trade and car repair, administrative and support activities, hotels and restaurants, and construction.

Among the most sought-after professions last month were care workers, salespersons, teachers, personal service workers, machine and equipment operators, cleaners and helpers, workers in the extractive and manufacturing industries, construction and transport, drivers of motor vehicles and mobile equipment, business and administrative staff employed in the manufacture of food, clothing, and wood products, waste collection workers, as well as metallurgists, machine builders, and craftsmen.

In November 2025, the unemployment rate stood at 5.14%, down by 0.02 percentage points year on year At the end of that month, there were 145,818 registered unemployed people in Bulgaria.