NORTH-WEST REGION - Employment
Low activity rate and high unemployment
The activity rate (% of the working population in relation to the corresponding total population), of 43.7% in 2002, is the lowest among the six regions, while the national average is 48.4%. The total number of people employed in all sectors in the region is 6.1% of the total number employed in the country. The largest number are employed in agriculture, which is due to the specific demographic and natural conditions in the region. The decrease in industrial production has led to a decline in the employment level in this sector, while on the other hand the number employed in agriculture has increased.
The unemployment rate (22.8% in 2002) in this region is the highest in Bulgaria, with the majority of the unemployed having been made redundant from the industrial sector. In recent years the unemployment rate has rapidly increased. Several factors contribute to the sustained rise in the unemployment level. Firstly, many workers were laid off due to the rationalisation of the industrial production process. Secondly, the labour force has a low education level, half of it having only primary or basic secondary education. Last but not least comes the lack of new job opportunities.
The creation of new jobs will benefit the gradual reversal of this trend. The completion of several national and regional investment programmes is also a stimulating factor in this process. Several special programmes designed to stimulate employment in the area of environmental protection have already started in the Montana region.
The number of unemployed men is higher than the number of unemployed women, which is an ongoing trend. The average length of time spent out of work is higher for women. A worrying trend is the increase in the number of unemployed aged 25 and below (with an unemployment rate of 75.5% in 2001), which is mainly due to the shortage of jobs for newly graduated young women and men. The lowest number of job offers is in the region of Vidin (with an unemployment rate of 38%), which places the whole region in the most unfavourable position as measured by this indicator. On average, the number of applicants for a vacant position in the region is twice the number of applicants nation-wide.
Low wage level balanced by high wages in the energy branch
The severe economic crisis in the beginning of 1997 had a negative impact on real wages in the North-West region.
The average annual wage at the end of 1998 was around 3.3% lower than the national average. However, the wages in most of the main sectors, such as agriculture, industry and market services, were the lowest nationwide, due to the region's poor overall economic development. The main source of economic activity, the energy branch, compensated to a large degree for the low average wage level in the other economic branches. The average wage at the power plant Kozloduy, around 20% higher than the national average for the energy branch, was the highest in Bulgaria and boosted average wages in the region to close to the national figure, despite the region's traditionally underdeveloped economy and low wages.
Almost half of the household income comes from wages and salaries, this percentage being the lowest nationwide. A note-worthy aspect of the income structure is the large share of social-security payments, due to the high percentage of the population over 65 and the high unemployment rate in the region. The poor regional economic development is also reflected in the lowest income from private business anywhere in Bulgaria. However, the agricultural specialisation here allows households to produce some of the food they consume and sell the surplus at the market, which explains the high share of additional income from agriculture.
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