Unskilled Bulgarian migration on the increase

More Bulgarian nationals are leaving the country in search of work, predominantly those aged 20 – 30 who have no professional qualifications.

Bulgaria experienced a marked drop in emigration from 2000 – 2006  as the EU opened its borders to new members which resulted in a huge influx of workers from the Eastern bloc travelling to Sweden, Ireland and the UK which at the time welcomed the foreign labour force.

Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Estonia and all relaxed restrictions on travel upon accession on 2004, with Italy, Spain, Portugal, Finland, following in 2006. Germany and Austria have maintained restrictions despite EU criticism. Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007.

Recent surveys within Bulgaria have shown that almost all new graduates or students have no desire to move to another country, which may be influenced by the recession along with stricter immigration controls increasing in the region. The result is that the new wave of emigrants from Bulgaria is those with few if any professional qualifications according to the National Statistics Institute.

The biggest destination countries are Spain and Greece where the Bulgarian Diaspora is around 110,000 prompting the new government to host job fairs in these countries in a bid to lure emigrants home. The new government under Prime Minister Boyko Borissov includes for the first time a minister for citizens working or living abroad which aims to preserve local job markets in the bigger picture.

The fall in professional emigration has also been attributed to the lack of legal work opportunities in the desired EU destinations. Germany, Austria, Italy and the UK all maintain strict controls whereas Denmark, Spain and Greece are more accessible. Forecasted economic growth in Bulgaria is expected to see the return of some of the Diaspora although many have chosen to remain abroad in the recession.