These days a chart of the 10 most in-demand jobs in Bulgaria has been published. It raised many questions and concerns and speaks very clearly about the status and prospects of the Bulgarian economy.

The first and main conclusion, which has been known for a long time and authors of the study only confirm, is that the labour market experience lack of workers, even though unemployment is above 8%. However, there are only certain professions that are in demand. Most offered are technical jobs - they form 50% of the top ten professions. It seems there is nothing wrong with this as we live in an age of technology and innovations, robots and computers. But concern raises the fact that most needed are ordinary workers, drivers, workers in hotels and restaurants, machine operators and only last come IT specialists. Most needed are low educated workers with basic skills and competencies, having limited innovation potential and low social status. But this shows the condition of the Bulgarian economy as a whole – low-productive, low-tech, and characterised by low competitiveness. It seems that there are still exceptions as among the most in-demand jobs there are engineers, doctors, managers, accountants and financiers, i.e. the so-called white-collar middle class. They are the ones that add quality and value to goods and services.

Another fact is also worth mentioning. This chart is from 2016, but in practice the differences with its previous edition in 2015 are few. This shows lasting trends, not temporary phenomena, which is what causes worries.

Currently in Bulgaria people with a university degree are about 23% of the population. In developed countries with advanced and high-tech economy, this percentage exceeds 30%. There is a national program under which by 2020 university graduates in this country should reach 36 percent. The observed labor market trend raises pessimism in this respect, especially as the number of students in recent years has been steadily declining. To this we can add the scandalous facts about the salaries of the Bulgarian scientific intelligentsia. Low salaries show the assessment that society and state give to the importance of these people for the present and future of this country. In the most prestigious research institutions in the country, such as the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, a professor receives a monthly salary of 450 euros, while a secretary without much education, working in the state administration, receives 330 euros a month. Then how can young Bulgarian scientific talents be attracted to work in Bulgarian research centers and institutes where they could develop innovative methods and technologies for the industry, commerce, agriculture, transport, communications, etc.!?

Analysts have said that Bulgaria had nothing else to rely on, except for its human potential and beautiful nature. The beautiful nature provides joy to tourists but cannot ensure the prosperity of the whole nation. In modern conditions, and in particular in the case of Bulgaria, the decision is smart growth. And it cannot be achieved just with drivers, waiters and construction workers who also easily find jobs in developed countries where local citizens do not want these low-wage occupations. No wonder that the prize for best taxi driver in Chicago recently went to a Bulgarian, while another Bulgarian placed among the top ten manicurists in the US. And who has not heard of the famous Polish plumber in the UK?

English: Alexander Markov