Bulgaria Lost 56 000 Jobs in Processing Industry - Report

2009-08-20

Bulgaria has lost about 56 000 in the processing industry as a result of the global financial crisis, according to a report of the Sofia-based think tank Industry Watch. That is about 60% of the total number of jobs which Bulgaria has lost as a result of the global financial and economic crisis so far. Construction and tourism were the other major sectors in which the country lost a lot of jobs as a result of the crisis. The Industry Watch report states that the crisis has changed the structure of the Bulgarian export towards a decline of the share of raw materials, and an increase of the export of Bulgarian-made consumer goods. Almost 100% of the jobs that Bulgaria lost so far because of the crisis were in the private sector, and Industry Watch recommends that the state-owned sector should follow suit with adequate layoffs. The report points out that a major advantage for the Bulgarian economy in dealing the crisis had to do with the low levels of public debt and low levels of households' debt.