June Cost of Living per Member of Family of Four Stands at Lv 366.15 a Month |
The cost of living for a family of four (two grown ups and two children) was 1,464.60 leva (366.15 leva per member) a month at the end of June, according to estimates of the Institute of Social and Trade Union Studies of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB). The findings of a survey conducted by the Institute covering the second quarter of the year were presented Wednesday at a news conference by its Director, Lyuben Tomev.
A comparison to the March figure - 1,470.24 leva, reveals a minimal deflation of 0.4 per cent. However, there is another alarming tendency of a record high price growth since 2000 - 9.7 per cent, Tomev also said.
"The absolute poverty line (calculated on the basis of 77 staple goods and services) is 145.55 leva a month which is 0.8 per cent down from March and 8.7 per cent up from June 2005", Tomev said.
"After registering a real drop of 0.9 per cent in 2005, real income has been growing steadily since the beginning of the year", Tomev said.
Households with an income below the absolute poverty line per household member of 160 leva were 39.2 per cent and households of an income per family member of over 310 leva - 13.4 per cent. The average income per household member (202 leva) covers 55 per cent of the cost of living.
However, the new price hikes expected at the end of the year will push inflation up and offset the effect of real income growth or reduce it to a minimum of an annual average of 1-2 per cent, Tomev said.
