A recent survey released EU-wide, found that Bulgarians are the least willing in the bloc to go abroad in search of employment.

There are very few reliable indicators about Bulgarian populations in other EU countries, however it is believed that the biggest population are in Spain and German. And based on Spanish census figures, the figure in 2009 was said to be 160,000. Other figures offer numbers of 10,000 or even 50,000.

The US is said to be home to 60,000 Bulgarians, however like all figures this number is up for debate.

And a survey conducted in 2009 by request of Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education, found that throughout the period of 2002-2006, there was a downturn in economic emigration by Bulgarians with tertiary education. On the other hand, there was an upheaval of unqualified people – mainly in their 20s – leaving Bulgaria to work elsewhere.

Despite the facts and figures it is believed that it is significant for Bulgarians to move abroad and work in order to send home money to families and dependents at home.

Whatever their numbers, Bulgarians abroad are significant to the domestic economy because of the money they send to their families and dependents at home.

Job fairs that take place are not an accurate indicator of trends – however going off consistent figures from fairs hosted by the Employment Agency over the past year found that Spain and Greece were seeking seasonal workers for their agricultural industries, while Germany and Finland were seeking medical personnel. French-speaking doctors from Bulgaria were in demand in France.

At present many EU countries restrict Bulgarians and Romanians for full labour market access but these limitations are expected to come to an end by May 2011 and January 2014 respectively.

The recent survey found that 9 per cent of Bulgarians pooled said that they had lived or worked abroad, but it doesn’t mean that this figure is set to increase signicantly. The figure is just 1 percent less than the EU average, according to the survey.

Alongside the Portuguese and Romanian citizens, Bulgarians ranked the lowest as being the least willing to move out of the country to find work. However, 33 per cent of Bulgarians polled said that they would, so the figure should be seen within its actual context against other countries like France, Sweden and Cyprus who showed more eagerness to follow where the money is.

60 per cent of Bulgarians polled said that their main reason for not being prepared to work about was that they didn’t want to leave home.

“The right to live and work in another European country is one of the EU’s fundamental freedoms, but too few people currently take advantage of this right,” according to László Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

“Worker mobility can help reduce unemployment by matching people with jobs available. Europeans recognise this fact, but still face barriers to moving around Europe for work. That’s why we want to make it easier for them to move around and have made this is a priority in our Europe 2020 Strategy.”

The survey also found that 17 per cent of Europeans see themselves working abroad in the future, ranging from 51 per cent in Denmark to just 4 per cent in Italy. Thirty-four per cent of Eurpeans rate their chances of finding a job abroad better than at home. 48 per cent of Europeans said they would move regions or countries for work if they lost their jobs.

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