site.btaNumber of Foreign Workers to Bulgaria in Q1 of 2025 Equals that for Whole 2024, Labour and Social Policy Minister Gutsanov Says

The number of foreign workers who came to Bulgaria in the first four months of 2025 equals the number for the whole 2024, Labour and Social Policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov told journalists after the meeting of the parliamentary Committee on Labour and Social Policy on Wednesday. “If we continue at this pace, our estimates show that we will end up with about 50,000 foreign workers coming from third countries,” he said, adding that foreigners from the Far East, Azerbaijan, etc., are most interested in working in Bulgaria.

According to the minister, the largest number of foreign workers are employed in tourism and hospitality, agriculture and the canning industry.

There are over 200,000 young people in the country who are neither studying nor working. This is the reason why the ministry submitted a proposal to the Council of Ministers, which was accepted, for an accurate calculation and a plan how to reach these people. So, the paradox is that “on one hand we bring in 50,000 foreign workers and on the other we have 200,000 young people who are not studying or working,” Gutsanov said. “There is some mistake, there are two vectors that do not coincide,” he added. “Employers are constantly complaining there’s a problem with the workforce. It is clear that we need to bring in people from abroad if we want our economy and industry to keep going. Is it a concern or not? Let's do this survey, and get Bulgarians to come back,” Gutsanov said. The ministry is considering funding those who come back, he added.