Trends, data and what they mean for employers
In recent years, employers in Bulgaria have become familiar with one major challenge – finding people is difficult. This has affected manufacturing, logistics and construction as well as IT and a range of professional positions. In 2026, however, the picture is gradually changing. This is not a sudden reversal of the labour market but rather a shift in the balance between employers and candidates.
Unemployment remains low
According to data from the National Statistical Institute unemployment in Bulgaria was 3.5% in the second quarter of 2026. The number of employed people was around 2.92 million, while the employment rate among people aged 15–64 was 70.5%. These figures show that employers are still operating in conditions of a relatively limited labour supply. At the same time there is an interesting change. In the first quarter of 2026 the number of job vacancies was 20.9 thousand, 6.3% lower than in the same period of 2025.
This does not mean that the difficulty of finding employees has disappeared. Rather it suggests that labour demand is beginning to normalise after the particularly strong years of the labour market.
The shortage of workers remains a serious issue
Despite the decline in vacancies, labour shortages remain an important factor for businesses. In June 2026, 32.4% of industrial enterprises identified labour shortages as a factor limiting their activity. This is particularly important for manufacturing, logistics, construction and other sectors where not every position can easily be filled simply by changing requirements or introducing automation.
There is another factor as well – labour costs continue to rise. In the first quarter of 2026, employers’ total hourly labour costs increased by 13.4% year on year. The increase was 14.1% in industry, 12.5% in services and 11.7% in construction.
Employers are becoming more selective
This is one of the more interesting trends in 2026. The market is gradually cooling – the number of vacancies is declining, candidate availability is increasing in some segments and employers are becoming more selective. This is changing the way companies approach hiring.
A few years ago, the main question was often: “How do we find someone?” Today the question is increasingly: “How do we find the right person?” The difference may seem small but it is significant for an employer.
The number of candidates is not the only factor
For many positions, the problem is not a lack of people, but a lack of people with the combination of skills, experience and motivation required by a particular job. For example a manufacturing company may receive dozens of applications for a machine operator position. But if the role requires shift work, technical knowledge and willingness to work with specific equipment the actual number of suitable candidates may be considerably smaller. The same applies to warehousing and transport, construction and hospitality.
As a result in 2026 recruitment is increasingly moving away from simply “posting a vacancy and waiting” towards active search, pre-assessment and better presentation of the employer to candidates.
Foreign workers remain part of the solution
For some companies the local labour market is no longer sufficient. In 2025 the Bulgarian Employment Agency issued 49,179 permits, opinions and registrations related to access to the labour market for third-country nationals. Of these 27,943 were related to seasonal or other short-term employment.
This shows that international recruitment is no longer an exception for individual employers, but a real tool for supplementing the workforce. For businesses, however, this is not simply a matter of finding someone in another country. The process includes recruitment, documentation, permits, visa procedures, arrival arrangements and employee adaptation. That is why international recruitment requires a different approach from simply publishing a vacancy.
What does this mean for employers?
The most important change in the coming years will probably not simply be whether there are more or fewer candidates. What will matter more is how effectively companies can reach the right people.
For one company this may mean a better-defined position and a faster recruitment process. For another, better pay and working conditions. For a third, training people who do not yet have enough experience. And for companies that cannot find enough candidates on the local market, international recruitment may be the answer.
At the same time, the data show that Bulgaria remains a market with low unemployment and a structural labour shortage. The European Commission indicates that employers continue to report a need for more than 230,000 additional workers, despite signs of weaker demand. So 2026 is probably not the year in which the staffing challenge disappears. Rather, it is a year in which the market becomes more balanced while finding the right person remains a challenge.
For employers this means that good recruitment will continue to matter – but it will increasingly be measured not by the number of CVs received but by whether the person ultimately hired is genuinely a good fit for the position and the company.