site.btaEmployment Level of People with Disabilities in Bulgaria at 10%

Bulgaria does not have accurate statistics on the number of people with disabilities in the country, said Ivelin Georgiev, Chair of the Management Board of the National Association of Socially Responsible Employers, in Burgas on Wednesday. "In our country, the employment level for this group is around 10%, compared to an average level for the European Union of over 50%", he added.

Georgiev reported that the World Health Organization has come to the conclusion that the average share of the planet's population suffering from some kind of disability is about 15%. According to him, the share in Bulgaria is around 20%. "If we apply the standard model for determining the working age of the population, which is about 60% in Bulgaria, this means that about 700,000 or 800,000 people with disabilities are of working age, and the total share of people with disabilities is about 1.3 million," he said. 

Georgiev took part in the regional meeting of the Sustainable Development of Socially Responsible Business Organization, which was held together with the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Agency, the magazine Enterprise, as well as Burgas Municipality. Similar meetings with business representatives will be held in almost all major cities of the country by the end of 2024. The meetings aim to hold broad discussions on the employment of people with disabilities in Bulgaria and to lower the mandatory requirements for businesses. 

"Such mandatory requirements are quotas for the appointment of disabled people, restrictions on the selection of quality personnel, including difficulties in releasing personnel without the necessary qualifications", said Georgiev, adding that they propose the state to change the Employment Promotion Act and the Persons with Disabilities Act, so that it provides a longer-term employment for the disabled, as well as financial assistance to employers who offer employment to people with disabilities.

Georgiev noted that only a few months ago, the Economic and Social Council submitted a document to the National Assembly, which includes many important details about the integration of people with disabilities in the labour market.  "This is the first document that gives an idea of urgent changes that should be made. Measures are needed to support employment, according to the specifics of the environment, the development of technologies, digitalisation and above all - of individual abilities and needs," he specified.

Among the main speakers at the meeting were Maya Kazandzhieva, Director of the Directorate for Health, Social Activities and Youth Policy of Burgas Municipality, Ana Yancheva, Director of the Regional Information Centre, and Marina Dicheva, Coordinator of the Regional Centre for the Development of the Social Economy under the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.