State of Hiring &
Recruitment in Bulgaria
🇧🇬 Research Report · April 2026
A Data-Driven Analysis of Bulgaria's Labour Market for 2025–2026
100+ Statistics
Verified Sources
NSI · Eurostat · Manpower · BEC
9cv9 Research
01 — Headline Metrics
The Big Picture at a Glance
3.6%
Unemployment Rate
Historic low · Aug 2025
76.8%
Employment Rate
Dec 2024 · Eurostat
2.38M
Total Employees
Labour contracts · Q2 2025
+12%
Avg Wage YoY Growth
2025 vs 2024 · NSI
262K
Workers Needed in 2025
Across vital sectors
28%
Employers Planning to Hire
Oct 2025 – Mar 2026 · BEC
02 — Employment Landscape
Workforce & Employment Fundamentals
77.1%
Employment rate for the critical 20–64 age group in Q2 2025
+0.3pp vs Q2 2024 · NSI Bulgaria
6.44M
Total population of Bulgaria (December 2024)
NSI Bulgaria
3.47M
Total persons employed in the economy (Q1 2025, preliminary)
NSI Labour Productivity Report Q1 2025
15.1%
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15–24) in August 2025
Down from 15.8% in July 2025 · NSI/Eurostat
70%
Employment rate in 2014 vs 70.7% in 2023 — showing a decade of labor market growth
Eurostat / EURES Bulgaria
52%
Women's share of the total Bulgarian workforce in 2025
NextJob Bulgaria 2025
0.90%
National job vacancy rate as of June 2025
Eurostat / NSI Bulgaria
+6%
Net employment rate for Oct 2025–Mar 2026 (BEC Survey), up +3 points vs prior period
Bulgarian Employment Confederation (BEC), Oct 2025
03 — Salary & Compensation
Wages Across Industries & Levels
2,549 BGN
Avg. gross monthly wage (Q3 2025 average — Jul/Aug/Sep) · NSI Bulgaria
31,239 BGN
Average annual gross wage in 2025 (preliminary) · NSI Bulgaria
1,213 BGN
New minimum monthly wage effective Jan 1, 2026 (+12.6% vs 2025) · Council of Ministers
€1,370
Avg. gross monthly wage in EUR (2026 quarterly release) · NSI / Pebl
| Sector | Avg Monthly Salary (BGN) | vs National Avg |
|---|---|---|
| ICT / Information & Communication | 5,551 BGN | +118% |
| Finance & Insurance | 3,763 BGN | +48% |
| Energy & Utilities | 3,592 BGN | +41% |
| Professional & Technical Services | 3,145 BGN | +24% |
| Manufacturing | 2,191 BGN | -14% |
| Agriculture & Forestry | 1,688 BGN | -34% |
| Accommodation & Food Service | 1,581 BGN | -38% |
Source: NextJob Bulgaria · NSI Q2-Q3 2025
+19.6%
Minimum wage increase effective Jan 1, 2025 (from 901 to 1,077 BGN)
Council of Ministers · Bulgarian Labour Code
+12.6%
Minimum wage hike for 2026 (1,077 → 1,213 BGN), benefiting ~600,000 workers
Council of Ministers Decree · Jan 2026
+12.6%
Public sector wage growth in 2025 (vs 11.7% private sector) — NSI annual preliminary
NSI Bulgaria 2025 Annual Preliminary Data
75.76%
Employers planning salary increases in H1 2026, majority covering all employees
Manpower Bulgaria SATR H1/2026 Report
6–10%
Expected salary increase range for H1 2026 among most Bulgarian employers
Manpower Bulgaria SATR H1/2026
04 — Industry Hiring Growth
Which Sectors Are Growing Fastest?
Source: NextJob Bulgaria · Manpower SEE 2025 · BEC Survey
05 — Regional Dynamics
Hiring Growth by City & Region
+65%
Sofia — leads national hiring expansion, driven by tech & financial services growth
+17%
Plovdiv — second-highest growth, strong manufacturing & logistics presence
+8%
Varna — moderate expansion; key role in tourism, logistics & Black Sea trade
+8%
Burgas — tourism-driven seasonal growth with rising services sector hiring
7.8%
Unemployment rate in the North West region — 3.5pp above the national average, revealing stark regional inequality
Eurostat/EURES Bulgaria 2023
+30%
Growth in remote work positions in 2025, helping bridge talent distribution gaps between Sofia and regional cities
NextJob Bulgaria 2025
06 — IT & Tech Recruitment
Bulgaria's Booming Tech Talent Market
+23%
ICT Hiring Growth 2025
Highest of all sectors
5,551 BGN
Avg IT Sector Salary
Gross monthly · NSI
22,000 BGN
Senior IT Net Monthly Max
DevOps/ML/AI roles
37%
Of IT companies need more than 2 months to complete a hire — the longest cycle of any sector
Manpower SEE Recruitment Trends 2025
20%
Reduction in hiring process time achieved through AI-powered matching technology on digital platforms
NextJob Bulgaria 2025
85%+
Of all job applications in Bulgaria are now submitted via digital platforms, making online recruitment dominant
NextJob Bulgaria 2025
Top IT Salary Ranges (Net Monthly BGN)
| Specialization | Net Monthly Range |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure · DevOps · Cybersecurity · SysAdmin | 2,000 – 22,000 BGN |
| Python · ML/AI · Data Science | Up to 20,000 BGN |
| ETL / Data Warehouse | 2,100 – 16,000 BGN |
| IT Management · Java · .NET | 1,250 – 15,000 BGN |
| ERP/CRM · Business Intelligence | Up to 14,000 BGN |
| Frontend · Angular · Tech Support | 1,200 – 11,000 BGN |
Source: NextJob Bulgaria IT Salary Guide 2025
07 — Recruitment Challenges
Why Hiring Is Getting Harder
75%
Of Bulgarian employers report difficulties in finding suitable candidates — the highest challenge rate in Southeast Europe
Manpower SEE Recruitment Trends 2025 (n=1,100+ employers)
60%
Of companies experience hiring difficulties broadly, with manufacturing (38.5%), logistics (25%) and sales (21.4%) most affected
Manpower Bulgaria SATR H1/2026
69%
Of Southeast European employers cite inability to find suitable candidates as their biggest recruitment challenge
Manpower SEE Recruitment Trends 2025
1–2 mo
Average recruitment cycle length in Bulgaria; only 27% of companies fill roles within 2–4 weeks
Manpower SEE Recruitment Trends 2025
41%
Of companies are able to fill open positions within two months; IT sector consistently exceeds this timeline
Manpower SEE 2025
60.94%
Of 2025 employee turnover was caused by more competitive pay offered by another company
Manpower Bulgaria SATR H1/2026
8–12%
Annual wage increase range that employers are offering annually to attract and retain skilled talent
NextJob Bulgaria 2025
08 — Regulatory & Compliance
EU Pay Transparency & New Regulations
81.84%
Employers are prepared to some extent for the EU Pay Transparency Directive
18.15%
Employers are not familiar with the EU Pay Transparency Directive requirements at all
43.56%
Express negative expectations about the impact of the new EU Pay Transparency Directive
€8.11/hr
Average hourly labour cost in Bulgaria — the lowest in the EU (Eurostat 2024)
Source: Manpower Bulgaria SATR H1/2026 | Eurostat Labour Cost Survey 2024
09 — Demographics & Education
Who Makes Up Bulgaria's Workforce?
88.5%
Employment rate for Bulgarians with tertiary/university education — exceeding the EU average of 84.7%
Eurostat / NextJob Bulgaria
~38%
Employment rate for workers with only lower secondary education — highlighting the education-employment gap
NextJob Bulgaria 2025
28.5%
Of the North Central region's active workforce held tertiary education in 2023
EURES Bulgaria 2024
67.4%
Female employment rate in Bulgaria in 2023 — above the EU average for women
Eurostat / EURES Bulgaria
73.9%
Male employment rate in Bulgaria in 2023 — below the EU average for men
Eurostat / EURES Bulgaria
+50%
Of all jobs created by 2030 in Bulgaria are expected to require advanced qualifications — pushing demand for STEM education
NextJob Bulgaria 2025 Outlook
Top In-Demand Skills (2025–2026)
AI & Machine Learning
Python Development
DevOps Engineering
Cybersecurity
Data Analysis
Cloud Infrastructure
Financial Analysis
Multilingual Support
ERP/SAP
Civil Engineering
Healthcare
Digital Literacy
10 — 2026 Outlook
What to Expect for Bulgaria in 2026
2.8%
Real GDP growth Bulgaria achieved in 2024 — a strong base for 2025–2026 hiring momentum
10%
Flat corporate income tax rate — making Bulgaria highly competitive for EU/UK nearshore IT operations
Euro 2026
Bulgaria's Eurozone entry boosted investor confidence without immediate wage spikes (as of early 2026)
22%
Of BEC-surveyed employers plan to downsize their teams between Oct 2025 – Mar 2026
65.94%
Of employers report that employee turnover in the past year did not exceed 2024 levels — signaling relative workforce stability
Manpower Bulgaria SATR H1/2026
+1.5%
GDP per person employed growth in Q1 2025 (real terms) — labour productivity is improving
NSI Bulgaria Q1 2025 Preliminary
137K+
Unfilled IT roles in Germany entering 2025 — driving Western European demand for Bulgarian nearshore tech talent
SmartChoice International / German Federal Labour Stats 2025