Preliminary data of the NSI for the fourth quarter of 2020 indicate that the total hourly labour cost rose by 10.0% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
In 2020 the unemployment rate achieved 5.1%, by 0.9 percentage points higher in comparison with 2019.
The employment rate for the age group 20 - 64 years was 73.4%, by 1.6 percentage points lower compared to 2019.
The consumer price index in February 2021 compared to January 2021 was 100.6%, i.e. the monthly inflation was 0.6%.
In 2020 the exports of goods from Bulgaria to the EU decreased by 4.1% compared to 2019 and amounted to 35 836.5 Million BGN while the imports of goods to Bulgaria from the EU dropped by 9.2% and reached 36 555.6 Million BGN.
In December 2020 the exports of goods to the EU increased by 10.3% compared to the corresponding month of the previous year and amounted to 2 705.2 Million BGN while the imports of goods grew by 1.3% and added up to 3 184.2 Million BGN.
In January 2021 the exports of goods from Bulgaria to third countries decreased by 22.6% compared to the same month of 2020 and amounted to 1 378.0 Million BGN while the imports of goods from third countries dropped by 15.0% and added up to 1 872.1 Million BGN.
In January 2021 the total value of all exported goods to third countries and EU amounted to 4 685.5 Million BGN, which is 6.1% less than the same month of the previous year, while the total value of all imported goods from third countries and EU added up to 4 941.8 Million BGN and dropped by 6.8%.
In January 2021, during the continuing epidemic situation, 1 634 accommodation establishments - hotels, motels, camping sites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short-term accommodation with more than 10 bed-places were functioned in the country. The total number of the rooms in them was 47.1 thousand and the bed-places were 95.2 thousand. In comparison with January 2020, the total number of accommodation establishments (functioned during the period) decreased by 16.8%, and the bed-places in them - by 19.3%.
The total number of the nights spent in all accommodation establishments registered in January 2021 was 463.7 thousand, or by 56.5% less in comparison with the same month of the previous year.
The total revenues from nights spent in January 2021 reached 26.0 million BGN or by 57.3% less compared to January 2020.
According to the preliminary data, in January 2021 the index of production in section ‘Construction’ calculated on the base of seasonally adjusted data was 1.3% below the level of the previous month. In January 2021 the working day adjusted index of production in construction decreased by 6.4% in comparison with the same month of 2020.
According to the preliminary seasonally adjusted data in January 2021 the turnover in ‘Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles’ at constant prices increased by 1.8% compared to the previous month. The working day adjusted turnover fell by 3.9% as compared to the same month of the previous year.
According to the preliminary data in January 2021 the Industrial Production Index, seasonally adjusted increased by 0.8% as compared to December 2020.
In January 2021 the working day, adjusted Industrial Production Index fell by 3.4% in comparison with the same month of 2020.
According to the seasonally adjusted data, the GDP growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2020 is minus 3.8% compared with the same quarter of 2019.