An average of 32 people compete for every job vacancy in the private sector in Bulgaria, with the most intense competition being in the southern city of Kardzhali, and the weakest competition in the capital, Sofia, according to data from the Bulgarian Employment Agency, reports novinite.com.

According to statistics from the Employment Agency, a total of 400,493 people were registered as unemployed in February, while the number of vacancies available was 12,460.

The most intense competition was in Kardzhali where there were 71 unemployed people per job opening. The jobs most in demand, in the city, were in manufacturing, education, retail, and healthcare.

In the North West district of Vratsa, one out of every five adults is unemployed, and there were 69 unemployed people per job opening. Bulgaria’s North West region is considered the poorest region in the EU.

Sofia offered jobseekers the best ‘odds’ on finding a job, with an average of 13 unemployed people per job opening. In February, a total of 22,762 people were registered as unemployed by the Employment agency, while the number of job openings was 1,753.

Recruitment specialist Ivelina Hristova suggested that there were a lot of vacancies in Sofia and the only reason for failing to get a job had to be the lack of foreign language skills.