site.btaOctober Industrial Production Index Up 9.4% in Mining, Quarrying Industry Y/Y

Sofia, December 31 (BTA) - Year on year, the October 2019
Industrial Production Index rose in the mining and quarrying
industry by 9.4 per cent and in manufacturing by 2.5 per cent.
Production fell in the electricity, gas, steam and air
conditioning supply by 6.8 per cent, the National Statistical
Institute reported.

Working day adjusted data for October 2019 showed an increase by
 3.1 per cent in construction output compared to a year earlier.
 The increase was driven by strong building construction, which
grew by 7.9 per cent, while civil engineering declined by 3.0
per cent. 

According to preliminary data, third-quarter GDP at current
prices stood at 31,764 million leva. Seasonally adjusted data
put the GDP growth rate in the third quarter of 2019 at 3.7 per
cent compared to a year earlier and at 0.8 per cent compared to
the second quarter of 2019.

In October 2019, the working day adjusted turnover in retail
trade, except for motor vehicles and motorcycles, increased by
1.2 per cent year on year. Year-on-year increases in turnover
were registered in the retail sale of non-food products except
fuel (by 2.1 per cent) and in the retail sales of automotive
fuel (by 1.6 per cent). A decline by 0.2 per cent was reported
in the retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco.

The unemployment rate was 3.7 per cent, down by 1.3 percentage
points from the third quarter of 2018. The unemployment rate was
 3.8 per cent for men and 3.4 per cent for women.

According to preliminary data for the third quarter of 2019, the
 total hourly labour cost rose by 10.0 per cent compared to a
year earlier. The total hourly labour cost grew by 8.3 per cent
in industry, 10.5 per cent in services and 10.1 per cent in
construction. NV/DD