site.bta Trade Union Says end-2015 Normal Cost of Living Per Household Member Was Lv 560.55

Trade Union Says end-2015 Normal Cost of Living Per Household Member  Was Lv 560.55

Sofia, January 25 (BTA) - The cost of living per a member of a household of four, including two adults and two children, at the end of 2015 reached the sum of 560.55 leva. In order to cover the costs of food, health care, education and maintenance, household monthly costs should be 2,242 leva, Violeta Ivanova, a researcher at the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research (ISTUR) with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) said. She was speaking at Monday's presentation of ISTUR's study for December 2015.

Compared to the previous quarter, the cost of living has remained at identical levels and has declined by 0.1 per cent year-on-year, Ivanova said.

Factors that influence the reduction in the cost of living include the significant decline in oil prices on world markets (by 43.4 per cent), while the decline of fuel prices in Bulgaria over the same period amounted to 11.6 per cent. The consequence: gradual decline of natural gas prices of 31 per cent in 2015. The Russian embargo also influenced the downward trend, both on international exchanges and on domestic agricultural produce prices.

CITUB says the rate of rising salaries is low, while end consumption has risen by a mere 2.0 per cent in the third quarter of 2015, following a consistent downward trend in the first half of the year.

According to CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov, it is concerning that 30 per cent of the households in Bulgaria still have an income below the poverty line per family member. However, the trade union said the number of people below the poverty line has reduced by 6 per cent in a year, which means there is a trend of rising salaries.

The number of employed receiving minimum wages has reached some 260,000, which is 11.8 per cent, CITUB added. The trade union expects a 10 to 15 per cent increase of salaries in the private sector, Dimitrov said.