site.btaOne in Four Working People in Bulgaria Would Seek Job Abroad

106 ECONOMY - SURVEY - LABOUR MIGRATION

One in Four Working People
in Bulgaria Would Seek
Job Abroad


Sofia, October 4 (BTA) - One in four working people in Bulgaria is considering looking for a job abroad, shows a nationwide representative survey on labour migration commissioned by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and carried out by the Sova Harris polling agency.

The survey was unveiled at the BTA National Press Club on Thursday by Sova Harris CEO Vassil Tonchev, Friedrich Ebert Foundation Programme Director Pencho Houbchev and Ivailo Kalfin of the Economics and International Relations Institute.

Asked whether they are considering seeking either a short- or long-term job abroad, 23 per cent of respondents in the poll answer in the affirmative. In the separate age groups, the percentage is as follows: 18 to 30 years old - 32.8 per cent; 31 to 40 years old - 25.7 per cent; 41 to 50 years old - 20.6 per cent; and 51 to 64 years old - 14.6 per cent.

The National Statistical Institute puts Bulgaria's working population at 4.37 million in 2017.

Men account for 64 per cent of those who intend to look for a job abroad, the survey shows. Persons with secondary education account for 62 per cent. Some 60 per cent of potential labour migrants are aged between 18 and 40, and 80 per cent live outside the capital Sofia. More than half of them (54 per cent) already have experience from working abroad.

"All kinds of people are leaving nowadays, not just young people," Tonchev commented, adding that physical labourers are also inclined to emigrate.

The main reasons for seeking a job abroad are the prospect of higher pay (according to 95 per cent of respondents), a better welfare system (50 per cent) and better healthcare (40 per cent). Some 38 per cent of interviewees say they would not look for a job abroad if they earned between 1,000 and 2,000 leva a month in Bulgaria; 36 per cent would not do it if they earned between 2,000 and 3,000 leva; 14 per cent would stay here even if they earned less than 1,000 leva; and 10 per cent would do the same if they earned over 3,000 leva. Only 1 per cent say there is no income level that would keep them in Bulgaria. (One lev exchanges for approximately 0.5 euro).