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Almost 60% of workers in Bulgaria earn wages below the subsistence minimum
Wednesday 29 October 2025 12:32
Wednesday, 29 October 2025, 12:32
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The necessary net monthly income for subsistence for a worker living alone in September 2025 is 1,547 leva (748 euros). For a three-member family with a child under 14, 2,785 leva (1,346 euros) are needed. This was announced by Violeta Ivanova, deputy director of the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research at the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions (CITUB). The necessary income for subsistence is increasing by 1.4% per quarter and by 6.4% on an annual basis.
Over 59.6% of workers in Bulgaria are provided with wages below the necessary monthly income for subsistence.
Bulgaria continues to have the lowest minimum wage in the EU, Ivanova said.
According to the draft state budget for 2026, the minimum wage will be 605 euros instead of the previously calculated 620 euros, said Luboslav Kostov, chief economist of the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions. This is 180 euros per year less income for all people working for the minimum wage, who are among the poorest in the country.
Edited by Ivo Ivanov
English publication: R. Petkova
English publication: R. Petkova
This publication was created by: БГНЕС