site.btaEnd-July Unemployment Slightly Up in Bulgaria, Down in EU, Euro Area, M/M

Bulgaria’s unemployment rate was 3.7% in July 2025, up from 3.6% in the previous month, according to the latest data released by Eurostat on Monday. However, the rate remains lower than the 4% recorded in July 2024.

The National Employment Agency reported an unemployment rate of 5.29% for July, based on the share of registered unemployed individuals within the economically active population aged 15-64, as established by the 2021 census.

There were 112,000 people out of work in this country - 3,000 more than the previous month and 9,000 fewer than in July 2024.

The Eurostat data show that the EU unemployment rate was 5.9% in July 2025, down from 6.0% in June 2025 and July 2024. The euro area seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2%, down from 6.3% in June 2025 and from 6.4% in July 2024.

Eurostat estimates that 13.025 million persons in the EU, of whom 10.805 million in the euro area, were unemployed in July 2025.

Compared with June 2025, unemployment decreased by 165,000 in the EU and by 170,000 in the euro area.

Compared with July 2024, unemployment decreased by 105,000 in the EU and by 161,000 in the euro area.

The highest unemployment rates in July were recorded in Spain (10.4%), Finland (9.5%) and Sweden (8.7%), while the lowest were in Malta (2.6%), the Czech Republic (2.8%), and Slovenia (2.9%).

Youth unemployment

In July 2025, 2.801 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.227 million were in the euro area. In July 2025, the youth unemployment rate was 14.4% in the EU, down from 14.8% in June 2025, and 13.9% in the euro area, also down from 14.3% in the previous month.

Compared with June 2025, youth unemployment decreased by 81,000 in the EU and by 64 thousand in the euro area.

Compared with July 2024, youth unemployment decreased by 189,000 in the EU and by 155 thousand in the euro area.

In Bulgaria, youth unemployment rose to 16% in July, up from 15% in June and 14.4% in July 2024.

Unemployment by sex

In July 2025, the unemployment rate for women was 6.0% in the EU, down from 6.1% in the previous month. The unemployment rate for men was 5.8%, stable compared to June 2025.

In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women was 6.4%, down from 6.5% in the previous month and 6.6% in July 2024. The unemployment rate for men was 6.1%, down from 6.2% in June 2025 and July 2024.

In Bulgaria, the unemployment rate for women was 3.4%, stable compared to June and down 0.5 percentage points from July 2024 (3.9%). The unemployment rate for men was 3.9%, up from 3.8% in June and down from 4.1% in July 2024.

Eurostat defines unemployed persons as persons aged 15 to 74 who are without work; are available to start work within the next two weeks; and have actively sought employment at some time during the previous four weeks.