March 16 (BTA) - In 2019, Bulgaria had 142,000 unemployed persons, of whom 82,300 were men and 60,500 were women, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said. Compared to 2018, the jobless total decreased by 17.6 per cent. At 4.2 per cent, the jobless rate in 2019 was down by 1 percentage point (pp) compared to 2018. The unemployment rate decreased for both sexes: by 1.2 pp to 4.5 per cent for men and by 0.8 pp to 3.9 per cent for women.

In 2019, the economically active population aged 15-64 totalled 3,276,400 people, 73.2 per cent of the population in that age group. There were 3,233,100 employed persons, who accounted for 54.2 per cent of people aged 15 or over.

The employment rate for people aged 20-64 stood at 75 per cent, up by 2.6 pp on 2018. The employment rate for this age group increased for both sexes: by 2.8 pp to 79.3 per cent for men and by 2.4 pp to 70.7 per cent for women.

The long-term unemployed persons (out of work for one or more years) were 81,000, 56.7 per cent of all people without jobs. The long-term unemployment rate was 2.4 per cent (2.6 per cent for men and 2.2 per cent for women).

The economic inactivity rate in the 15-64 age group was 26.8 per cent (22.4 per cent for men and 31.3 per cent for women).

The proportion of people aged 15-29 who were neither in employment nor in education and training was 16.7 per cent, down from 18.1 per cent in 2018. DD
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