Bulgaria’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.6% in July 2026, up from 3.5% in June, but the country continued to record one of the lowest unemployment rates in the European Union, according to the latest Eurostat data. The July figure was also below the level recorded a year earlier, when unemployment stood at 3.8%.
Around 107,000 people were unemployed in Bulgaria in July, compared with approximately 106,000 in June. The number was considerably lower than a year earlier, when about 114,000 people were unemployed.
Despite the monthly increase, Bulgaria remained well below the EU average. Unemployment across the 27-member bloc was 6.1% in July, unchanged from June, while the eurozone rate stood at 6.4%, also unchanged from the previous month.
Bulgaria remained among the EU countries with the lowest unemployment rates. The Czech Republic recorded the lowest rate at 3.3%, followed by Poland at 3.4%. Malta and Slovenia were next at 3.5%, with Bulgaria just behind them at 3.6%.
At the opposite end of the ranking, Finland had the highest unemployment rate at 10.5%, followed by Spain at 10.0% and Sweden at 8.7%.
