57.7% of employees in Bulgaria earn less than needed to cover living costs

The net monthly income required to cover living costs in Bulgaria is €842 for a single working person living alone. A household with two working parents and a child under the age of 14 needs €1,516.

These are the findings of a third-quarter survey conducted by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB). The results were presented by Violeta Ivanova, head of CITUB’s Institute for Social and Trade Union Research.

More than half of all employees, or 57.7%, earn less than the amount needed to cover their living costs. The survey findings point to mounting price pressures on both households and businesses.

Almost 40% of a working person’s income in Bulgaria is spent on food alone. Food prices have risen by 5.3% year on year.

The trade union says it is calling for an average annual wage increase of at least 10% in the draft 2027 state budget, both in the public sector and across the wider economy.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov