The unemployment in Bulgaria continued to rise gradually in February 2009, data of the Employment Agency show. A total of 247,759 unemployed were registered at the job centers, up by 6,977 (2.9%) compared to the previous month. The number of jobless has declined by 20,997 or 7.8%, compared to February 2008.

The unemployment rate went up by 0.19 percentage points, to 6.69% in February, compared to January. The jobless rate declined by 0.57 percentage points compared to February 2008.

The monthly increase in February may be put down mainly to the worsening economic situation in the country and the periodical lay-offs of small numbers of employees as a result of the declining production in fields such as the textile industry, construction, wood processing and etc.).

The unemployment rate remained below the average for the country in eight regions in Bulgaria in February 2009. A total of 27 regions saw an increase in the jobless rate compared to the previous month. Targovishte was the only region to post a decline in the number of jobless in February.

Job centers listed a total of 17,646 vacancies, up by nearly 2,900 compared to February 2008. The number of seasonal job openings more than doubled, from 613 in January to 1,349 in February. The highest number of job openings were listed in the field of agriculture(638 ), hospitality (347), transport (127) and construction (86).

An average of 11 unemployed individuals competed for one position in February (average for the country).

A total of 14,325 individuals started work last month, up by 333, or 2.4%, compared to February 2008.