The average annual unemployment rate in Bulgaria for 2007 was 7.75 per cent, and 31.2 per cent of the registered unemployed were aged under 35, Atanaska Todorova, Chair of the YouthOrganization of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, told a news conference here on Monday, BTA reported.

The problems that young Bulgarians encounter in the labor market include education that mismatches demand, difficulties in getting a first job, lower pay compared to older workers, and a desire to migrate and seek better realizations in EU countries and the US after graduation.

The number of unemployed people aged under 29 declined by 3,300 between December 2007 and April 2008, Todorova said.

Macedonia had a 2007 average unemployment rate of 35 per cent and a youth unemployment rate of 54.6 per cent. The comparable figures for Serbia were 39 per cent and 21.6 per cent, for Romania 6.68 per cent and 19.8 per cent, for Hungary 7.25 per cent and 16.8 per cent, and for the EU 7.13 per cent and 16.5 per cent. The 2007 unemployment rate for Kosovo averaged 42.2 per cent, and a youth unemployment figure is not available.

Photo: BGNES