site.btaYouth Unemployment Stands at Six-year Low - Employment Agency Data

Youth Unemployment  Stands at Six-year Low - Employment  Agency Data

Sofia, July 24 (BTA) - According to the Employment Agency's
latest data, youth unemployment currently stands at a six-year
low, Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivailo Kalfin said during
 question time in Parliament on Friday. He added that a total of
 14,700 young people have found jobs during the past year. There
 are currently three programmes for youth unemployment and one
more is yet to start. Around 19,000 young people have started
work on the primary labour market since the beginning of 2015,
and 5,000 have been included in subsidized employment, Kalfin
explained.

According to data, quoted by the Minister, Bulgaria's population
 has decreased by half a million between 2001 and 2011, while
175,244 people have emigrated.

Kalfin said that in order for young people to stay in Bulgaria,
they need higher salaries, prestigious education in the country
and a good career-related future.

According to him, wages in Bulgaria must go up. The Minister
said that he is familiar with all the reasons of employers to be
 against increasing minimum wage, adding however, that given the
 current low salaries, businesses can not claim that they will
become uncompetitive if the minimum wage is raised.
 
Young people with a good education or those seeking such, tend
to look for opportunities abroad, Kalfin said.