Тhe economist, Lyuboslav Kostov, from the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB) commented on the recently released data that a family of four needs BGN 581.31 per person per month for a decent standard of living. He stated that 71% of the Bulgarians receive income below the minimum standard of living if the statistics are realistic.

The survey on the cost of living is conducted on a regular basis and the change based on the comparison of the prices of basic food or transport is worrying, said Lyuboslav Kostov of CITUB. The net figure of the average salary in the country is about BGN 880, he added.

For a year, the standard of living has gone up by between 5% and 7% and average wages - by 12%. However, the prices of goods have risen more and this increases inequality between individual social groups.

According to our research, 27% of the working households receive incomes lower than the poverty line, which is currently BGN 314 and the remaining 45% earn income between the poverty line and the minimum subsistence. By adding them, 71% of the population receive income below the minimum living standard, for which we are alerting every three months.

He noted that although there is an economic upsurge, the majority of Bulgarians do not perceive it because economic inequality continues to increase.

A four-member family in Sofia needs just over three thousand BGN per month. At present, the average salary in Sofia is about 1,100 BGN after taxes, he added.

He said the median wage, the "most massive", is about 20% below the average wage. Kostov added that average wage is artificially increased by industries in large cities where some sectors have very high salaries, such as the IT sector.

64% of all deposits in banks are up to 1,000 BGN and they are down by 7%, Kostov said. At the same time, the number of deposits over 100,000 BGN have increased and 70% of the Bulgarians do not have any deposits in banks.


Source: BNT