Unemployment

In Q2 2014 there were 381.8 thousand unemployed Bulgarians and the unemployment rates in the country were 11.4%, data collected by the National Statistical Institute indicated.

By Martin Santa

Eurozone industrial production contracted unexpectedly for a second month in a row in June, further denting hopes of a stronger recovery as the bloc starts to take the hit from conflict in Iraq, Ukraine and Gaza, data showed on Wednesday.

Croatia’s Employment Bureau, HZZ, on Monday reported that the number of unemployed adults fell to 296,094 in July and again to 294,988 on Monday, 11 August.

The last time the number fell below 300,000 was in July 2012, when the jobless total was 298,690.

In July, the unemployment rates in Bulgaria registered a decline for the sixth consecutive month reaching 10.6%, according to data collected by the National Employment Agency.

The decrease compared to June is of 0.1 percent, Bulgarian National Radio reports. The number of unemployed Bulgarians has dropped by nearly 54,000 people since the beginning of the year.

Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), has called on the next Bulgarian government to seriously address the issue of grey economy

In an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio, he argued that excessive financial discipline and pay cuts harmed economic growth and consumption.

BELGRADE - Making young people the priority for all government services, especially those concerned with employment, is the most significant objective, Serbia's State Secretary for Youth Nenad Borovcanin has said.

New hirings outstripped firings by 13,275 job positions in July, figures published by the Labor Ministry on Friday from its Ergani database have shown.

Greece's jobless rate eased to 27.2 percent in May from 27.3 percent in the previous month, the country's statistics agency ELSTAT said on Thursday.

Croatia’s hotly disputed new Labour Law came into force on Thursday, angering unions who have complained of a lack of communication and consensus over the way it was passed.

Under the new law, employment contracts for a definite period, which were previously possible only for three years, now can be prolonged indefinitely.

Bulgaria’s consumer confidence index dropped last month compared to its level three months earlier, the statistics office said on Wednesday.