BGN 1,454 per month is needed to support the life of a working person who lives alone, and the amount for a family of three with one child is BGN 2,616. This is indicated by the latest data of the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research at the National Council for the First Quarter of 2024. More than 65% of the working people in the country are provided with an income below the subsistence amount, with every third of the employed receiving remuneration of up to BGN 1,000, BNR reports.
In one year, compared to the same period in 2023, the necessary funds for the maintenance of life for a single person have increased by 60 leva or by 107 leva for a family, announced the president of KNSB Plamen Dimitrov.
“There is a small increase on a quarterly basis – just over one percent, and on an annual basis it is 4.3”, added Dimitrov.
The union’s data also show that the small consumer basket of 20 vital goods has risen in price by nearly 4% on an annual basis, giving the impression that inflation has not been overcome.
The minimum wage in Bulgaria is the lowest in the European Union. It is 18% of its highest value, which is in Luxembourg – over BGN 5,000.
A Bulgarian employed at the lowest wage has to work for more than four months to reach it. KNSB insists on the introduction of a tax-free minimum and a nominal increase in incomes in 2024 of at least 12-15% in order to achieve real growth of 6-7 percent.
