[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1511880220013{padding-top: 20% !important;background-image: url(https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Header1920_700_Webpage.jpg?id=9343) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column width=”4\/12″][vc_column_text css_animation=”top-to-bottom” el_class=”custom-background” css=”.vc_custom_1551174091212{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}”]Sofia is home to 1.3 million people or 19% of the total population of Bulgaria. Sofia is the city with the lowest unemployment and the highest average salary in the country. 65% of the city\u2019s population is of working-age. The labor force has grown to 714.500 people.
\nSofia\u2019s growing economy makes the city an attractive center for talented people from Bulgaria and abroad.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”8\/12″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1511878419712{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1524048948371{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” gap=”5″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”17925″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” css=”.vc_custom_1555925267333{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}” link=”https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Labour-Demogr-Sofia-2019-Eng.png”][vc_btn title=”Full-page view of this infographic” color=”inverse” align=”center” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Finvestsofia.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F04%2FLabour-Demogr-Sofia-2019-Eng.png||target:%20_blank”][easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin” url=”https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/General-Characterisics-of-the-Labor-Market-in-Sofia.png” text=”General characteristics of the labor market in Sofia – number of employed, education level, economic activity rates” twitter_user=”@InvestSofia” twitter_tweet=”General characteristics of the labor market in Sofia – number of employed, education level, economic activity rates”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1551346207280{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”]<\/p>\n
Sofia is the district\u00a0with the largest workforce in Bulgaria. The labor force increased by 26% in the period from 2003 to 2017, or by a total of 147 100 people and amounts to 714.500 people or 21.6% of the total labor force in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n
The economic activity rate in\u00a0the city is also\u00a0the highest in Bulgaria – 62.1%, compared to the average for the country – 53.3%.<\/p>\n
Sofia also attracts approx. 40.000 daily\u00a0commuters.<\/p>\n
The number of employed in ICT and outsourcing\u00a0increased by over 50 000 people between 2008 and 2017 and now accounts for nearly 20% of the total employment in Sofia.<\/p>\n
The unemployment rate in the capital for December 2018 is\u00a02.8%.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” gap=”5″][vc_column_inner width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1551175014108{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”]<\/p>\n
The labor force in Sofia is educated and is characterized by a high level of foreign language fluency.<\/p>\n
51.4% of the city’s working population holds a university degree. 110 000\u00a0people attend\u00a0one of 23 universities in the city.<\/p>\n
The number of Bulgarian students abroad totaled some 30 000 at the end of school year 2015 – 2016. Germany, the Netherlands and UK are the top 3\u00a0preferred destinations.\u00a0A positive trend, however, is also observed in the number of graduates returning to Bulgaria\u00a0– 70% of the people who legalized their foreign higher education diplomas from the beginning of 2013 to June 2016\u00a0began a professional career in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n
Some of the highest ranking secondary schools are also in Sofia. These include high-schools with advanced foreign language and Natural Sciences & Mathematics profiles. Nearly 70% of the students in specialized schools attended a language school. The main languages studied\u00a0are English, German, Spanish and French. About 50% of children study a second foreign language. Over 27,000 students in the capital take\u00a0classes in entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n
The high level of language skills of the labor force\u00a0is the result of compulsory foreign language learning in schools and the concentration of highly educated young people in Sofia. The most common languages\u00a0are English, Russian, German and Spanish.<\/p>\n
The increasing number of the private software schools and academies is another competitive advantage of Sofia. As of July 2017, the licensed private IT education centers in Sofia are 83, and the total number of their graduates is over 8 000.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”17934″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” css=”.vc_custom_1555949175058{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}” link=”https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Education-ENG.png”][vc_btn title=”Full-page view of this infographic” color=”inverse” align=”center” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Finvestsofia.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F04%2FEducation-ENG.png||target:%20_blank”][easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin” url=”https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Education-and-Language-Skills-of-the-Labor-Force-in-Sofia.png” text=”Infographic of the education and language skills of the labor force in Sofia” twitter_user=”@InvestSofia” twitter_tweet=”Infographic of the education and language skills of the labor force in Sofia”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” gap=”5″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”17942″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” css=”.vc_custom_1555958307514{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}” link=”https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Remuneration-ENG.png”][vc_btn title=”Full-page view of this infographic” color=”inverse” align=”center” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Finvestsofia.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F04%2FRemuneration-ENG.png||target:%20_blank”][easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,linkedin” fixedwidth_align=”right” url=”https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Labor-Costs-and-Remuneration-in-Sofia-1.png” text=”Infographics – Labor costs and remuneration in Sofia” twitter_user=”@InvestSofia” twitter_tweet=”Infographics – Labor costs and remuneration in Sofia”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1551347207138{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”]<\/p>\n
Sofia has a number of advantages compared to other major cities in the region – Belgrade, Bucharest, Skopje and Thessaloniki.<\/p>\n
The leading advantage of the Bulgarian capital is the 10% direct tax (corporate and personal income tax) which are the lowest in the region, together with Macedonia. The total insurance burden of 31.4% of the gross salary in Bulgaria is also significantly lower than in the neighboring countries.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0December 2018, the average gross monthly salary in Sofia before tax and social security amounted to BGN 1\u00a0551 or EUR 793 – above the average figures for Bulgaria and the Balkan Region (Greece is an exception).<\/p>\n
Highest remuneration is paid in the sectors Information and Telecommunication Services, Financial & Insurance Activities and Professional Activities & Scientific Research. The highly skilled labor force will continue to attract investments. Mostly in the rapidly growing IT sector, the outsourcing of business services and some industrial activities with relatively high added value.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1511880694452{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”]<\/p>\n
The main legislative act regulating the labor market relations\u00a0is the Labor Code.<\/p>\n