Mika Zaykova: Unemployment in Bulgaria exceeds 15%

“Unemployment in Bulgaria actually exceeds 15% because statistics cannot include people who have not registered at labour bureaus. Therefore, the percentage is higher than officially announced,” Mika Zaykova, financial expert at the Podkrepa Labour Confederation, said on Radio Focus on Wednesday after the National Statistical Institute announced a 12% unemployment coefficient for Q2 2012. According to her, the worst part is the growing number of jobless university graduates. “The trouble is that the real production sector, which accounts for the bulk of the gross domestic product, is shrinking. This is not good either, considering the fact that Europe itself is entering a period of recession. There is something deeply wrong in the overall economic policies, in the way we encourage investments and use them,” commented Zaykova.

“We should not only calculate percentages, but also consider the developments on the labour market in order to work out adequate strategies,” added Mika Zaykova. According to her, it is too late to raise the minimum working wage as of the beginning of 2013. Inflation has already started to increase and will assume dramatic dimensions in the autumn,” the trade union financial expert stated.

Labour costs cannot be overlooked. Production costs can be lowered by new technology, but labour costs should not be cut down. We do not agree that after the minimum insurance plans are increased a bit, this will lead to layoffs,” Mika Zaykova commented earlier on Wednesday on Bulgaria on Air.

According to her, layoffs will not be such an important problem as the development of Bulgaria’s economy in a new way. She believes that the problem lies in incomes and that high-tech industries are a possible solution.

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