site.btaOver Half of Employers Won't Hire New Staff in Next Six Months, Study Shows

More than half of this country's employers will not hire new employees in the next six months, shows the latest survey of the Bulgarian Employment Confederation (BEC), conducted among 1,197 companies and covering the period October, 2024-March, 2025. A total of 32% of the companies surveyed do not expect any change in their number of employees, while 24% plan on hiring new staff. A further 20% plan to reduce staff and 24% are unsure whether they will expand or contract their teams between October 2024 and March 2025, the survey results show.

"The difference between employers who plan to reduce their workforce and those who plan to increase it is +4%, or a decrease of 12 percentage points compared to the previous six months and a decrease of 6 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023," the BEC said.

Seven of the twelve industries recorded weaker hiring forecasts over the next six months. The largest declines were reported by the Information Technology and Wholesale and Retail Trade sectors, among others. The BCE identifies the two percentage point decline in the Manufacturing sector, which employs over 500,000, as worrisome. Employers in four sectors report more serious hiring plans compared to the previous survey period. The increase is largest in the Transportation, Warehousing & Communications and Construction sectors, where net employment ratios reach +14% and +12%, respectively, followed by Public & Social and Electricity, Gas & Water with net employment ratios of +7% and +3%. The employers' forecast in the outsourcing sector declined by 1 percentage point to reach an employment rate of +12%, the mining sector's employment rate of -1% was unchanged and the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector's employment rate declined by 2 percentage points, according to the data.

In terms of individual regions, only employers in Sofia and Ruse (North Bulgaria) plan on hiring new employees in the next six months, registering an increase and reaching net employment ratios of +74% and +2%.

The survey was conducted in the last month, the organization's chairwoman Nadia Vassileva told BTA.