Youth unemployment in Bulgaria up by nearly a third in one year

6 months ago 24

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News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Unemployed people under 25 in Bulgaria now account for 16% of all registered unemployed in the country, according to Eurostat data for March 2024, or 19,000 people - an increase of 6,000 in just one year. [Shutterstock/Pixel-Shot]

Youth unemployment in Bulgaria has increased by nearly 30% over the last year, according to the latest Eurostat data.

Unemployed people under 25 in Bulgaria now account for 16% of all registered unemployed in the country, according to Eurostat data for March 2024, or 19,000 people – an increase of 6,000 in just one year.

For the European Union, the average share of unemployed people in this age group is 14.6%, corresponding to almost 2.8 million young people.

Youth unemployment in the euro area is 14.1% or 2 260 000 people, and Spain holds the record for the proportion of young people under 25 without a job – just over 27%.

Bulgaria is in a group with countries such as Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France and Lithuania, where a level of around 16% is reported.

For comparison, in March last year, the share of young unemployed people in Bulgaria was just over 10%, well below the EU average.

The Bulgarian authorities have not yet commented on the Eurostat data on the reasons for the sharp increase in youth unemployment.

According to Eurostat, total unemployment in Bulgaria was 4.4% in March 2024, an increase of 0.2% over the previous year.

(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)