Bulgaria's jobless rate edges down to 6.7% in July

[SOFIA] Bulgaria's jobless rate declined for a fifth consecutive month in July to 6.7 per cent, down from 6.8 per cent in June and 8.2 in the same month last year, data from the state employment agency showed on Tuesday.

The agency said 220,884 people were unemployed in the Balkan country of 7.1 million people in July, 3,283 less than a month earlier and 47,216 less than in July last year.

The decline was mainly due to an increase in seasonal jobs.

The agency, which calculates the jobless rate based on the number of officially registered unemployed, said 18,300 people found work in July.

The Finance Ministry expects the unemployment rate to fall to 6.9 per cent this year from 7.6 per cent at the end of 2016.

REUTERS