Skip to content

Bulgaria's unemployment falls to 3.4% in September, about half the euro area rate

1 min read

Modern open-plan office with people working at desks and a city view through large windows Euro
Modern open-plan office with people working at desks and a city view through large windows

Eurostat data show 103,000 people out of work in Bulgaria in September, while the euro area rate stayed at 6.5% and the EU rate at 6.2%.

Bulgaria's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.4% in September 2026 from 3.5% in August, according to Eurostat data published on Friday 30 October and reported by BTA. That equals about 103,000 unemployed people.

The figure is roughly half the average for the euro area, which Bulgaria joined on 1 January 2026. The euro area rate was 6.5% in September, unchanged from August but up from 6.3% a year earlier. The EU rate stayed at 6.2%, compared with 6.0% in September 2025.

Across the EU, Eurostat estimated 13.77 million people were unemployed in September, of whom 11.56 million were in the euro area. Unemployment rose by 105,000 in the EU and by 122,000 in the euro area compared with August.

Youth unemployment in Bulgaria stood at 13%, or 16,000 people under 25. The youth rate was 15.5% in the EU and 15.4% in the euro area, both higher than in August.

By gender, the rate in Bulgaria was 3.7% for men and 3.1% for women. In the euro area, it was 6.4% for men and 6.7% for women.

For employers, a low and falling jobless rate usually means a tight labour market, with fewer people available to fill vacancies. Bulgaria's figure is one of the measures investors look at when planning new operations, together with wage levels, skills and the availability of workers in each region.

The data are seasonally adjusted Eurostat estimates and may be revised. Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute also publishes its own quarterly labour force survey, which uses a different time frame.

Sources