The main functions of the Labour Market statistics department are related to the data collection, data validation and data dissemination of the official short-term and annual statistical information on the state of the art and dynamics of the main labour market indicators (employment, unemployment, job vacancies, earnings and labour costs). The activities performed by the Labour Market statistics department are summarized in the following four main domains:

• Labour Force Survey (LFS) - the main purpose of the LFS is to provide information on the main characteristics of employment and unemployment in the Republic of Bulgaria;

• Short-term statistics on earnings and labour costs – it provides monthly and quarterly information on the level of wages and salaries, the employers’ expenditures on labour and the job vacancies;

• Annual statistics on earnings and labour costs - it provides annual data for the average gross wages and salaries, time worked and employers’ costs on labour;

• Structure of Earnings Survey (SES) – the main purpose of the SES is to give detailed and comparable at European Union level information on distribution and relationships between the level of remuneration, individual characteristics of employees and these of their employer.

For each of the above mentioned domains the department performs the following activities:

• Development of the surveys methodology and questionnaires in a way assuring achievement of maximum level of compliance with the quality requirements of the European Statistical System and user needs;

• Data collection and validation of the statistical information on employment, unemployment, job vacancies, earnings and labour costs;

• Methodological and technical support of the respondents during the data collection periods;

• Dissemination of official statistical information for the main indicators characterizing the labour market in Republic of Bulgaria;

• Participation in the Eurostat and other institutions working groups, workshops, pilot studies etc. related to the labour market area.