OVER 2 MILLION BULGARIANS LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE

Over 2 million Bulgarians live below the poverty line and nearly 80% of the households in Bulgaria do not have the necessary funds for adequate standard of living, data of the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research of the Confederation of the Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria shows.

The cost of living per household with 4 family members was approximately 559 BGN for September. This amount covers the expenses for food, house maintenance, healthcare, education and transport.

1,600 million Bulgarians have more than this minimum amount of money per month. The Confederation of the Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria note that there is the same high share of households which are forced to self-limit themselves in the expenses because their income lag behind the necessary funds to maintain sufficient standard of living.

Violeta Ivanova from the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research says that the expectations are that the cost of living in the next quarter will decrease, given the zero inflation rate. The reason is that in the future, there are not sufficient indicators showing economic recovery. Some industries are doing well and employment has gone up by about 22,000 people for one year, but on the other hand, the problem of long-term unemployed discouraged workers remains. They are 161,000 and 35% of those people are at an age of up to 34 years old.