The business in Bulgaria faces the biggest shortage of staff since 2011. This is the Manpower staffing survey, involving more than 600 companies, in the Talent Tolerance 2018 study.

A total of 68% of businesses in Bulgaria are finding it difficult to fill their vacancies, with skilled workers, engineers and drivers the most difficult to find. Employees for restaurants and hotels, health professionals, IT specialists, sales representatives are also deficient.

The top 10 of the hardest to find are also managers, office workers, accountants and financiers. According to the survey, 38% of employers point out the lack of candidates as the main reason for the shortage of staff in Bulgaria. Among the remaining obstacles are lack of skills in the specialty (24%) and experience (11%). 11% of companies can not fill their vacancies because of the expectations of candidates for higher pay and the lack of soft skills – communication, teamwork and problem solving. Three more Balkan countries are among the countries where it is most difficult to find suitable staff. In Romania, 81% of entrepreneurs complain of staff shortages, 66% in Turkey and 61% in Greece. The most serious is the situation with workers in Japan (89%), Taiwan (78%) and Hong Kong (76%), Singapore (56%), India (56%).

Ireland (18%), the UK (19%) and the Netherlands (24%) have the least difficulty in filling vacancies. A month ago, the Employment Agency announced a pilot study of the workforce needs in Bulgaria, the results of which slightly differ from the new Manpower data. According to it, business needs economists the most (although until recently they have been declared non-prospective), engineers, machine operators, sellers and chefs – the shortage for these professions will remain even in the next 5 years.

35.3% declare that they do not have vacancies, but that in the next 6 months 61% of employers will need new staff. The study also confirmed the tendency to search for more people with vocational education than for university graduates – 58% of companies need specialists with secondary education and qualifications. The most sought after are business management and administrative activities followed by those needed for industrial activities, architecture and construction. The EA also reported hunger for workers without special qualifications – general workers, couriers, carriers, workers in the processing industry and food aiders.