Labor Market Analysis: Second Quarter of 2026

The National Statistical Institute (NSI) has published official data on the state of the labor market in Bulgaria. In the second quarter of 2026, the number of unemployed persons amounted to 107,100.

The unemployment rate reached 3.5%, showing a slight increase compared to the first quarter of the year, when the indicator was 3.2%.

Key Highlights:

  • Demographic profile: Of the total number of unemployed, 60.9% are men (65,200) and 39.1% are women (41,900).
  • Duration of job search: 42% of the unemployed fall into the long-term unemployed category (one year or more).
  • Youth unemployment: The rate for the 15-29 age group is 8.1%, which is an increase of 0.1 percentage points on an annual basis.

Employment Structure

The total number of employed persons in the second quarter was 2,917,900. The breakdown by sector shows a lasting dominance of the services sector:

  • Services: 66.9% (1,951,600 people)
  • Industry: 28% (816,200 people)
  • Agriculture, forestry and fishing: 5.1% (150,000 people)

The comparison with the first quarter shows stability in the total number of employed persons, but slight structural changes in the distribution of the workforce across the individual sectors.