Bulgarian employers expect moderate hiring pace to continue in Q4 - Manpower

"On the other hand, 11% of the employers in the country plan to increase their headcount in the next three months and this positive trend spreads across all five regions and almost all industry segments," Aleksandar Hangimana, managing director of ManpowerGroup Balkans said in a statement last week.

The net employment outlook of 621 surveyed employers, adjusted to allow for seasonal variation, stands at +7% in the period between October and December, the recruitment company said quoting findings of its most recent Employment Outlook Survey.

Out of all surveyed employers, 5% plan to decrease staffing levels, 4% are not sure about their hiring intentions and 80% expect no changes.

The hiring intentions remained unchanged compared to the previous quarter but registered a decline of 1 percentage point compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

Employers in nearly all industrial sectors expect to increase staffing levels during the review period, with the exception of mining and hospitality, where no increase or decrease is forecast. The financial sector reports the strongest net employment outlook of +14%.

In terms of regional hiring intentions, the strongest labour market is anticipated in Varna, with a net employment outlook of +12% and Plovdiv with +8%.