site.btaAverage Wage at BGN 1,593 in Q1 of 2022

In the first quarter of 2022 the average salary in Bulgaria was BGN 1,593 and decreased compared to the last quarter of 2021 by 1.2%, according to preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI) released on Friday. The average gross monthly salary was BGN 1,566 in January, BGN 1,545 in February and BGN 1,668 in March.

The highest decrease was observed in Education (by 16.6%), in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (by 10.4%), and in General Government (by 8.1%). The highest increase was in Financial and Insurance Activities (by 6.9%), and in Administrative and Support Service Activities (by 6.6%).

In the first quarter of 2022 the average salary increased by 9% compared to the first quarter of 2021, with the largest increase being in the hospitality industry (by 34.4%), followed by Culture, Sports and Entertainment (32.7%), and Administrative and Support Service Activities (17.3%). The salaries remained unchanged in Education and General Government.

The economic activities with the highest average monthly salary in the first quarter of 2022 were: Creation and Dissemination of Information and Creative Products; Telecommunications (BGN 4,060); Financial and Insurance Activities (BGN 2,540); Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities (BGN 2,264).

Employees in the following sectors had the lowest salaries: Hospitality (BGN 964); Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (BGN 1,005); Other Activities (BGN 1,088).

The average monthly salary in the public sector in the first quarter of 2022 grew by 1.8% year-on-year. In the private sector it grew by 11.6%.

According to NSI, by the end of March the workforce grew by 8,400 (an increase of 0.4% compared to the end of 2021) reaching 2.27 million.