Тhe ratio of income to the cost of living is the factor which determines the choice of labour mobility, and emigrants will not return to Bulgaria if they see that this ratio is more favorable abroad, Dikran Tebeian, Vice President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association said at a round table discussion entitled "Bringing Emigrants Back to Bulgaria," held on Tuesday, the BTA reported.

The discussion was attended by officials from various departments and Bulgarians who have returned from abroad. The round table discussed labor shortage, emigration and internal migration.

Contrary to widespread assumptions, Tebeian believes that common workers are most in demand on the Bulgarian labour market, although there is also a shortage of highly qualified specialists in some spheres. He said admission to vocational schools is constantly decreasing at the expense of general schools, and then after finishing such a school and after obtaining higher education, it turns out that this particular profession is not in demand on the labor market, and so people emigrate.

Union for Economic Initiative Deputy Chairman, Teodor Dechev, raised the question as to whether the causes for emigration are economic or more related to such factors as the condition of the law enforcement system in Bulgaria and the rules of society.

Another highlight was the condition of science and the intellectual potential which has left the country.