Bulgaria's jobless rate was 3.1% in the third quarter of 2026, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said. A year earlier it was 0.3 percentage points higher.
But fewer people have jobs. The employment rate for people aged 15 to 64 is 70.8%, down 0.6 points from the third quarter of 2025. The activity rate in the same age group is 73.1%, down 0.8 points.
The year began with unemployment at 3.2%. It rose to 3.5% in the second quarter.
Long-term unemployment is 1.4%.
In all, 2,927,800 people were in work in Bulgaria in the third quarter. Of these, 652,000 are aged 55 to 64.
Among young people aged 15 to 29, 8.1% are unemployed, down 0.6 points from a year earlier. The rate is 10% for men in this age group and 5.6% for women.