site.btaFinancier Emil Harsev: Wages in Bulgaria Will Grow Due to Inflationary Pressures, in Much of Europe They Are Falling Because of Recession

Wages will continue to grow, although not at the high rate that was observed during the sharp jump in inflation, said in an interview with BTA Assoc. Prof. Emil Harsev, financier and lecturer at the UNWE.

"There is a serious demand for labour in Bulgaria because there are simply not enough people and this determines a continuous increase in incomes, including far exceeding the growth of gross domestic product. We are competing with other countries in the same market in the European Union and if Bulgaria and employers here are unable to pay appropriate wages relative to the conditions and cost of living in Bulgaria, the workforce will move to more competitive parts of the general labour market," the financier said.  

He is convinced that wages will grow.  

"Inflation is still there. Prices are rising and the same income buys less consumption, so incomes have to rise to maintain the standard. That is why I say it is impossible for someone to set himself the task of freezing wages," Harsev said. He was referring to a recent declaration of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), which demanded pensions and wages to be frozen from 2025 as a measure against the uncontrolled growth of budget spending and the budget deficit.

Harsev pointed out that over the past ten years, wages have increased continuously, including by double-digit percentages a year. According to him, wages will continue to rise in the country, while in most EU countries they are falling.

“This year we have an overrun of 57,000 people returning to the country compared to those who have permanently left, and next year we will have a doubling of this number, because wages are rising here and in Europe they are falling. There is an explanation for this, and it is called recession, which is present in most of the EU, but it is not here because of the low development of our economy. We are far from the potential of the Bulgarian economy, but the countries that have exhausted this potential are entering recession," the financier explained.