site.btaAverage salary in Third Quarter Down 0.3 Per Cent to 1,037 Leva from Q2 Figure

Sofia, November 10 (BTA) - The average salary in the third quarter of 2017 stood at 1,037 leva, 0.3 per cent down from the figure for the second quarter, according to preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute.

The economic activities with the biggest drops were Finance and Insurance, 5.3 per cent, and Operations with Real Property, 4.9 per cent. The biggest increase of the average salary, by 7.5 per cent, was in Farming, Forestry and Fishery.

The average gross monthly salary in July was 1,039 leva, in August, 1,008 leva, and in September, 1,064 leva.

Year-on-year, the Q3 average salary in 2017 increased by 10.2 per cent. The salary grew the most in Operations with Real Property, by 13.5 per cent, Administrative and Auxiliary Activities, 12.9 per cent, and Other Activities, 12.6 per cent. The highest average monthly salary in the third quarter of the year was paid to employees in the sectors Creation and Distribution of Information, Creative Works and Telecommunications, 2,346 leva, Production and Distribution of Electricity, Heating and Gaseous Fuels, 1,728 leva, Finance and Insurance, 1,718 leva. The lowest pay was in the sectors Hotel and Restaurant Management, 631 leva, Other Activities, 743 leva, and Construction, 814 leva. Compared to the like period in 2016, the average pay in the public sector increased by 7.9 per cent, and in the private, by 11 per cent.

As at the end of September, employees hired pursuant to an employment contract decrease by 30,100, or by 1.3 per cent compared to the figure for the end of June, reaching 2.31 million people. Compared to the end of the second quarter of the year, the biggest drops are reported in Hotel and Restaurant Management, 17.7 per cent, Culture, Sport and Entertainment, 8.1 per cent, Operations with Real Property, 3.5 per cent. The biggest increase is reported in the number of employees in Farming, Forestry and Fishery, by 4 per cent.

Year-on-year, the number of employees hired pursuant to an employment contract remained unchanged.