site.btaTrade Sector Has Highest Labour Demand in Bulgaria - Analysis

The trade sector has the highest labour demand in Bulgaria, according to an analysis by the JobTiger.bg HR and careers website. In September 2024, the trade and sales sector accounted for 26% of total employment in this country. This implies that job listings in this sector account for over a quarter of all job listings that month, totalling just over 44,000.

The trade and sales sector is followed by manufacturing (17%), accommodation and food services (14%), administrative and support service activities (12%), logistics and transport (11%), IT (7%), construction (6%), healthcare and pharmacy (5.4%), accounting, audit and finance (4.9%), marketing and advertising (3%), and arts (1%).

The number of job listings in September remained unchanged compared to August. There was a 2% decline, or 900 fewer job offers, on a year-on-year basis. September is the third month in a row with a slight drop in listings compared to 2023.

Sectors that saw a decline in the previous month are now seeing growth, and vice versa, the analysis shows.

The highest growth in job listings was observed in the trade and sales sector (450 more job ads, 4% increase), administrative and support service activities (300 more ads, 6% increase), healthcare and pharmacy (200 more ads, 9% increase), manufacturing (190 more ads, 3% increase), accounting, audit and finance (120 more ads, 6% increase), and logistics and transport (40 more ads, 1% increase).

Decline was registered in marketing and advertising (50 fewer ads, 4% decrease), IT (70 fewer ads, 2% decrease), and accommodation and food services (510 fewer ads, 8% decrease).

Job listings for remote work and telecommuting positions continued to decline, registering a 2% drop. Compared to the previous year, there were 260 fewer remote work ads, representing a 7% decrease. In September, some 3,270 ads for remote work or telecommuting jobs were posted, accounting for 8% of all job listings.

The distribution of job listings by sector is as follows: IT leads with 47%, followed by administrative and support service activities (19%), outsourcing (17%), and trade and sales (9%).

In terms of geographical distribution, Sofia accounted for 43% of all job offers, followed by Plovdiv (10%), Varna (8%), Burgas (4%), Ruse (3%), and Stara Zagora (3%).

The dynamics of job offers in the largest regional cities are as follows: Sofia (5%), Plovdiv (4%), Varna (-8%), Burgas (-0.4%), Ruse (0%) and Stara Zagora (8%), according to the analysis.