Bulgaria's Jobless Rate Rises to 8.03% in Sept - Govt Agency

The number of unemployed totalled 297,515 at the end of September, the government's Employment Agency said in a statement.

Job vacancies totalled 5,585 at the end of last month. A total of 14,286 jobs were opened in September, 2,620 more compared to August, while 13,895 people found job, a figure that was 41% higher month-on-month.

The country's average unemployment rate was 7.22% for September, the ministry said. This compared to a monthly average of 8.65% for January-August in EU member states and to a jobless rate of 9.10% for September, the ministry said.

The government plans to spend around 1.0 billion levs ($765.1 million/511.2 million euro) to fight rising unemployment expected to reach a double-digit figure next year. Unemployment rate was 6.27% at the end of last year.

Bulgaria's unemployment rate is expected to reach 9.5% at the end of 2009 and rise further to 11.4% next year, the finance ministry said last month. Bulgaria, which joined the European Union in 2007, has a population of 7.6 million people.