June 27 (BTA) - The National Statistical Institute (NSI) released related data on the occasion of international Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, marked on June 27.

The microenterprises in Bulgaria, which have a staff of up to 9 people, are a total of 388,980, employing a total of 691,496 people.
The small enterprises, with a staff of between 10 and 49 people, are a total of 25,204 with 494,071 employees. The medium-sized enterprises, which have a staff of between 50 and 249 people, are a total of 4,738 people, employing 467,303 people.

According to the International Council for Small Business, micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises represent over 90 per cent of all enterprises in the world and provide an average of about 70 per cent of total employment and 50 per cent of gross domestic product. They are a major driver of the economy in most countries, and especially in developing countries, giving a livelihood to the most vulnerable.

At the same time, currently they are most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and need the support of the state and economic development organizations the most.

NSI data show that there are a total of 759 companies with more than 250 employees.

In an interview on May 19, Ivan Neykov, Chairman of the Balkan Institute for Labour and Social Policy and former labour minister, commented for BTA that revisions to labour legislation should be the subject of intense discussion, as it was written 40 years ago and is not adequate to the present labour market.

Official data from the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency show that currently over 93 per cent of all operating enterprises are micro-enterprises with less than 10 employees. "One should be extremely naive to think one such enterprise would be capable of complying with this enormous labour legislation consisting of nearly ten laws, dozens of secondary legislative acts and hundreds of health and safety at work regulations," Neykov pointed out.

He argued that Bulgaria has to split labour legislation into such for microenterprises and such for medium and large enterprises. "Otherwise these thousands of Bulgarian entrepreneurs in the microenterprises will successfully be turned into habitual offenders of labour legislation, because they are incapable of complying with it," Neykov added.

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In 2017, the UN General Assembly declared June 27 the World Day of Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. The aim is to raise public awareness of their contribution to the world economy and overcoming poverty, as well as to encourage efforts to create a favourable business environment for their survival and development. RI/DT
/DT/