CITUB survey of labor climate in Bulgaria

published on 8/6/13 9:43 AM

Photo: BТА

More often than not these days young people combine work with study; employers are less likely to hire retired people, and more than half of the employed have switched jobs from 3 to 5 times for various reasons. These are the findings of a survey carried out by the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research at the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB). The survey was held with 3300 respondents.

According to Luben Tomev, CEO of the Institute, a new social category has emerged – of people who work and study at the same time.

“This phenomenon is partly due to the dire straits of the Bulgarian households who cannot support students while they study. On the other hand, it has to do with the will of young people to start work earlier. However, in most cases, the jobs they take have no relation to their subject of study. In other words, their first employment is an accidental job with a view to extra income. What is worrying in this trend is that it runs risks of worsening quality of education. Close to 32 percent of the polled said they worked while they studied.”

The survey suggests that this happens more often with women, and is more common in the capital city and in big towns. More than 80 percent of those hired started their career under labor contracts. However, 12 percent have worked piecemeal and in the shadow economy. The other trend is of employers getting increasingly reluctant to hire retirees, though this is a way for them to save social security contributions. In 2012 pensioners were just 2.5 of all hired, and the trend is downward. The reasons according to Tomev have to do with the increased retirement age, in the limited number of jobs and with the specific requirements of employers.

Bulgarians are not afraid of switching jobs, the research suggests.

“More than 44 percent have switched jobs three to four times during their careers. Just 15 percent never switched jobs. What is behind this high mobility? In the first place, switching to another job is motivated by the search for higher pay, or greater security in the new job. Also, switching jobs results from layoffs.”

There is a category of Bulgarians for whom an interesting job is a key motive for switching to a new job. One in four has moved to another job in the search of something more attractive, figures suggest. This indicates that there is a stable contingent of individuals on the labor market who have confidence in their skills and do not see any risk in a change of the job. The CITUB survey suggests that a mere 30 percent of the hired have been trained by employer companies. About 20 percent of the hired have joined qualification and requalification courses outside offices. However, only 9 percent have had the chance of further education.

English version Daniela Konstantinova

По публикацията работи: Milka Dimitrova

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CITUB survey of labor climate in Bulgaria

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