By the end of 2006 the average salary in Bulgaria would be 14.1 per cent higher than last year?s, Labour and Social Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova said.

Up till now the salary was 10 per cent higher than the amount for 2005, Maslarova said.

The pensions of 70 per cent of the Bulgarian elderly also increased. The minimal pension rose by 23.19 per cent, Maslarova said.

According to Maslarova, the  Labour and Social Policy Ministry managed to open 240 000 work places and to decrease unemployment below 10 per cent. In July unemployment in Bulgaria reached its lowest level since 1991, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported.