Sun, Nov 22 2009
Photo: Tsvetelina Angelova
Close to 22 million people in the 27 European Union member states were jobless in July 2009, the highest unemployment in the EU since May 2005, the bloc’s statistics office Eurostat says. Bulgaria had seven per cent unemployment in July 2009; a year earlier it was 5.5 per cent.
The unemployed-job vacancies ratio was 15 to one
About 22 000 people have lost their jobs since the beginning of the year
Bulgarians are above the EU average in worrying that they or their spouses will lose their jobs, while 18 per cent have no confidence about having a job in two years’ time – against an EU average of seven per cent.
Youth unemployment has increased in all EU member states except Bulgaria, where it decreased from 13.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 to 13.5 per cent in Q1 2009.
Unemployment in euro area was 9.5 per cent in May 2009, new Eurostat figures say. Joblessness figures in all EU states are higher than a year ago.
Strong public opposition to price hikes prompted Prime Minister Boiko Borissov to axe the Finance Ministry proposal to increase the excise duty on spirits, but MPs have put it back on the agenda.
Bulgaria’s Cabinet seeks to reverse recent changes in the telecommunications sector
Kremikovtzi’s prospects for a recovery plan appear increasingly distant
Bulgarians are getting the hang of debit and credit cards, MasterCard says
The two telecoms, both set up to challenge former fixed-line state monopoly BTC, will merge operations and expect to report 20 million euro in revenue and a gross profit of five million euro in 2010.