Economic problems grow worse in Bulgaria

Economist Georgi Tchernev writes in the daily Klassa that the impact of the international financial crisis on Bulgaria was long underestimated. He contends that the true level of unemployment in Bulgaria is much higher than official figures confirm: "The situation on the job market is without doubt not particularly good because there are 300,000 registered as unemployed and only around 11,000 free positions. That means there are 30 people battling for each job. And because there is concealed unemployment, in my opinion the unemployment figures are much higher. Some don't register with the social security offices because the application procedures are so difficult. But another aspect must be taken into account: working hours and how they are distributed in times of crisis. … At the beginning of the crisis we all made the fundamental mistake of claiming it wouldn't affect us. … Only now are we beginning to stem the stream of foreign workers. This only proves that the problems are getting worse."

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