site.btaBulgaria's Average Wage at BGN 2,200 in Q1

The number of employees with labour contract at the end of March 2024 increased by 1.4% from the end of December 2023 and reached 2.32 million according to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) released Wednesday. The highest increase was observed in the economic activities of Accommodation and food service activities (by 6.1%), Information and communication (by 5.3%), and Professional, scientific and technical activities (by 3.2%). The highest decrease of the number of employees, by 0.6%, was seen in Mining and quarrying, and Administrative and support service activities.

In the first quarter of 2024, in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2023, the average monthly wages and salaries increased by 3.5% and reached 2,198 BGN. The highest increase in wages and salaries was reported in Other service activities (by 16.9%), Administrative and support service activities (by 10.2%), and in Financial and insurance activities (by 10.0%).

Compared with the first quarter of 2023, the average monthly wage grew by 16.8% with the biggest increase being in Other activities and Accommodation and food service activities (by 24.4%), Real estate transactions (by 21.5%) and Construction (by 20.7%).

The economic activities with the highest average monthly remuneration during the review period were Creation and distribution of information and creative products; telecommunications (BGN 5,252); Financial and insurance activities (BGN 3,395); Production and distribution of electricity, heat and fuels (BGN 3,035).

The worst-paid employees were in Accommodation and food service activities (BGN 1,366); Other activities (BGN 1,528); and Agriculture, forestry and fishing (BGN 1,543).