Bulgarian employers are planning an increase of salaries by 4-5 % in the new year.

This is shown by a study conducted for private bTV station among the members of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA).

The employers are moderate optimists for the new year, but uncertainty remains.

According to the study, 84.8 % of firms do not plan to hire new employees, which means that most likely there will be a minimum increase in the employment rate.

Moreover, 5.5 % of the employers participating in the study are planning lay-offs.

More than half of the employers participating in the poll (51.5 %) are not planning an increase in salaries, while 3.5 % are predicting a decrease in remuneration.

According to the respondents, the decision of the government to increase the minimum wage to BGN 420 from January 1 will have mostly negative effects.

In their opinion, this is to result in the shrinking of the employment rate in the poorer regions and growth of the grey sector of the economy.

Only 15.2 % of the employers participating in the poll expect that the increase of the minimum wage will result in growth of the other salaries.

The finance ministry forecasts the Bulgarian economy to grow by 2.1 % in 2016, while the forecast of the European Commission predicts a 1.5 % growth of GDP.

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