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According to a research by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), conducted among 504 companies from Bulgaria in September of this year, 54% of the interviewed individuals expect an improvement in the business climate in 2019, which is 9% less than 2018. The questionnaire is part of a big research in Europe (European Economic survey – EES 2019), which over 45 thousand companies from 26 countries participate in.

The Bulgarian companies are facing serious challenges like the lack of human resources and the prices of energy and raw materials. Their main concern is that they will be unable to handle the increased demand of their own products and services, because it's becoming more and more difficult to workers with the required profile.

The shortage of qualified employees is a problem not only for the Bulgarian business, but for the European companies as well, according to the research, which ranks it in second place as an obstacle standing before the Bulgarian employers. A conclusion can be made, that the lack of skilled labor suppresses economic growth and there is already a crisis of skills, which is a threat to Europe's competitiveness.

In the area of employment, the forecasts are for stabilization or even a possible weak growth - the majority of around 63% of the employers expect to keep their employees. However, staff costs are a top challenge for them due to the trend of wage growth and the burden of high taxes and social security contributions.