Every fourth Bulgarian employee believes that the curbing of the grey sector is not on the economic agenda of the Bulgarian state

Every fourth Bulgarian employee or 27.4 % of employers and 25.5% of officials and employees believe that the curbing of the informal sector has never been placed on the economic agenda of the Bulgarian state, according to the data from three nationally representative surveys which will be released to the public on May 10, 2011 under the project “Restriction and Prevention of the Informal Economy''. It is being implemented by the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria under Operational Programme Human Resources, co-funded by the European Union and the European Social Fund.

Sociologists examined the attitudes of Bulgarians towards the shadow economy among three social categories involving the general population, employers and employees. The conclusions reached by Associate Professor, Emilia Chengelova, a key expert on the project, indicated a growing trend in the manifestations of the informal economy comprising both the tacit agreement and the inactive state confrontation with business activities not complying with the general rules. Furthermore, 39.6 % of employers and 31.7 % of employees admitted that, during the years of transition, some efforts were made to curb the grey sector but, actually, there was no comprehensive policy for the restriction of the informal economy in Bulgaria.

Among the main losses and damages inflicted to employers by the grey sector are lower profitability, higher labour costs, the higher prime cost of finished products and services, as well as the loss of staff, including highly-qualified employees. Ultimately, this leads not only to the loss of market positions but increases the risk of bankruptcies, commented project manager Dr. Milena Angelova. According to various studies, the informal economy in Bulgaria is about 37%.

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