Press releases

Preliminary data for second quarter of 2009 indicated that the total hourly labour cost rose by 15.6% compared to the second quarter of 2008.

According to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute the construction production in July 2009 remained unchanged as compared to the previous month. In the civil engineering an increase of 0.8% was seen, while the building construction dropped by 0.4%.

The preliminary data showed that the Industrial Production Index decreased by 18.9% in July 2009 as compared to July 2008, as compared to the previous month the industrial production increased by 1.6%. In July 2009 the Industrial Turnover Index decreased by 24.5% compared to July 2008, as compared to the previous month the turnover increased by 0.4%.

According to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute, in the second quarter of 2009 the newly built residential buildings were 679 and marked an increase of 24.1% compared to the first quarter of 2009. The number of the new dwellings in them increased by 51.1% compared to the first quarter of 2009 and reached 5 888.

In the second quarter of 2009 the goods carried by the land and water transport are by 28.1% more as compared to the previous quarter, while the transport performance, measured in tkms, increases by 42.2%. As compared to the corresponding period of 2008, however there is reduction both in the goods carried and the transport performance, respectively by 18.4% and by 19.1%. In the period April-June 2009 the passengers carried by the bus, railway, water and urban electrical transport decrease by 1.2%, as compared to the first quarter of 2009, while the transport performance in pkms increases by 13.4%. In the second quarter of 2009, the passengers carried and the transport performance register a drop respectively by 8.8% and 21.5%, in comparison with the same period of 2008.

In August 2009 the total business climate indicator decreases by 1.3 percentage points in comparison with the previous month and records its lowest level (9.0 percentage points) since the beginning of the negative development of the business conjuncture in the country in October 2008.

Producer Price Index on Domestic Market in July 2009 decreased by 0.9% compared to the previous month, and by 9% compared to the same month of 2008. Total Producer Price Index in Industry decreased by 1.0% compared to June 2009, comparing to the same month of 2008 the producer prices decreased by 10.6%.

According preliminarily data, 1 208 thousand Bulgarian residents travelled to the country or abroad in the second quarter of 2009. The average expenditure per person spent were 168.9 BGN for domestic trip and 411.8 BGN for travelling abroad.

In July 2009, the number of arrivals of visitors from abroad to Bulgaria was 1 471.2 thousand or 5.8% less than the number of trips in the same month of 2008.
The number of the trips of Bulgarian residents travelling abroad was 522.5 thousand in July 2009, which was 14.2% more than the number of the trips in July 2008.

In the second quarter of 2009 municipal authorities have issued building permits for construction of 1 832 residential buildings with 4 506 dwellings, of 79 administrative buildings/offices and 1 160 other buildings.