25.06.2021

HOW MUCH WILL THE SALARIES IN OUR COUNTRY INCREASE

Wages in Bulgaria will continue to increase, according to the spring macroeconomic forecast of the Ministry of Finance. The expected increase in economic activity and labor demand in the country in 2021 will contribute to accelerating the nominal growth of compensation per employee to 6.4%.

There will be higher wage growth in services, due to the expected resumption of activity and employment in the second half of the year. The increase in incomes in priority sectors will also contribute, as well as in the structures that are in charge of pandemic control activities, as well as the raising of the minimum wage, etc.

In 2022, in line with the expectations that the Bulgarian economy will reach its full recovery and the upward dynamics of employees, the compensation per employee will continue to accelerate to 7.1%, the document reads.

In the period 2023-2024, the growth rate of wages will remain high, but at the end of the forecast period it will begin to slow down due to the gradual exhaustion of opportunities to increase the supply of labor.

The negative effect of the pandemic on labor income was less pronounced and the nominal growth of compensation per employee amounted to 5.9% in 2020, which exceeded estimates for the development of the indicator since the fall, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Wages declined in four sectors of the economy (real estate operations; information activities; trade, hotels and restaurants, and transport; culture, sports and entertainment), while in industry and the public sector the indicator rose at a double-digit rate.

The increase in the compensation of one employee was also influenced by the acceleration of the growth of the employers' expenses for social insurance.

Estimates of labor income growth in the medium term have also been revised upwards, but remain close to those presented in the autumn forecast, according to the spring forecast of the Ministry of Finance.