Bulgarians Join Balkan Protest Against Soaring Food Prices
Bulgaria has joined Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro in organizing protests against rising food prices
Bulgaria’s business climate climate indicator has advanced by 1.3 percentage points in August compared to July, mainly due to improved managers’ opinions in industry and retail trade, the country’s statistical office announced on Friday.
The business climate indicator in industry has risen by 2.1 percentage points in comparison with July due to the more favourable assessments by entrepreneurs in the sector as well as improved expectations about the business position of their companies, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a monthly report.
It should be noted that weaknesses in economic legislation have moved one rung higher to the second position among the factors constraining the improvement of the business climate in industry, ahead of insufficient domestic demand. The latter has been typically cited as the second biggest obstacle to doing business in industry after the nuncertain economic environment, the NSI said.
The business climate indicator in retail trade has improved by 3.0 percentage points compared to July due to the more optimistic assessments of retailers about the current business position of their enterprises. The managers’ assessments of the volume of sales over the last three months have slightly improved and their expectations for the next three months remain favourable.
The business climate indicator in construction industry has remained flat in August compared to the previous month. The business climate in the services sector has also been little changed in August.
Entrepreneurs in both construction and services are citing the uncertain economic environment and competition in these sectors as the two strongest challenges facing their companies in August.
In 2024, labor inspectors in Bulgaria carried out a total of 6,682 inspections in the construction sector, representing 13% of the overall 49,858 inspections conducted across all industries
According to a study presented to MPs by Prof. Emilia Chengelova, from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the shadow (grey/informal) economy in Bulgaria remains high at 33%
A recent survey by digital payments company Visa reveals that most Bulgarians planning a winter vacation prefer to pay digitally at ski resorts
the last quarter of 2024, the proportion of properties purchased with mortgage loans in Bulgaria grew to 27%, or roughly every third property
Bulgaria's labor market remained stagnant throughout 2024
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