Bulgaria's unemployment rate stands at 8.92 percent

Bulgaria's unemployment rate stands at 8.92 percent

The unemployment rate in EU newcomer Bulgaria stood at 8.92 percent in March.

The jobless rate in March was down by 0.56 percent from the previous month, and down by 1.92 percent from March 2006. The total number of unemployed in March stood at 330,270, or 20,905 less than in February.

According to Minister Emilia Maslarova, 42,000 unemployed people will get professional education this year.

Last year, Bulgaria's average unemployment rate was 9.61 percent, down from 11.46 percent in 2005.

Bulgaria, a Balkan country of 7.7 million, joined the European Union in January.

The government has announced plans to cut the jobless rate to 8.6 percent by the end of the year, and to 8 percent in 2009.