(SOFIA) - More than a quarter of young Bulgarians want to work in another European Union country, a poll found Thursday.

A total of 27 percent of those aged 15-30 fancied working in another EU state according to the Gallup survey, although only eight percent said they would consider staying abroad long term.

The findings come against a backdrop of increasing tension over immigrants from new EU states, with Britain prolonging tight restrictions on Bulgarian workers and Italy issuing an emergency decree to deport Romanians.

The two-month poll of 1,000 young Bulgarians also found them leaving home earlier and starting paid employment younger than previous generations of Bulgarians -- who grew up under communism.

"During the communist regime there was a shortage of accommodation and people lived with their parents until they were 45-50 years old.

Nowadays, half of the young people aged between 24 and 30 live on their own," said Marchela Abrasheva, who conducted the survey in September and October among 1,000 people aged between 15 and 30.

"It is surprising that over 40 percent of teenagers aged between 15 and 17 have already started their first job and earned their own money... Over 90 percent say they belong to the middle class," Abrasheva said.

Two thirds of young Bulgarians said they expected a lot from their country's entry into the EU and university studies were much more popular than during communism, according to the poll.

Some 23 percent of youngsters said they wanted to study in the EU, although only 8 percent considered staying long-term, the survey showed. A total of 27 percent said they would want to work in another European country for a while.

The study also showed a third of young Bulgarians had already travelled abroad: three times as much as their parents.

Analyst Antoni Todorov pointed however to the rising illiteracy rate among the Roma minority, which makes up about 9 percent of the population.

"Illiteracy appears mainly among the young people" who were born after the fall of communism in 1989, whereas their parents for the most part received a compulsory education and some professional skills, he said.

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