The lower social economic status of women and the lack of competitiveness on the labour market lead to the emergence of a new phenomenon in Bulgaria, feminisation of poverty, KNSB labour union chair Zhelyazko Hristov said.

KNSB presented a national report on the status of women on the Bulgarian labour market, the Bulgarian National Radio reported.

Women receive lower salaries than men do, the report reads. In December 2005 the average salary for women reached 86 per cent of the average male salary. Women in various economic spheres receive up to 30 per cent lower salaries than their male colleagues, the report reads.

The number of employed women in 2005 reached 1.04 million. Women employers represent 28.4 per cent of the total, the KNSB report shows. The female employment coefficient is 39.9 per cent, nearly 10 per cent lower than the one for men.

Only 37.7 per cent of all working women are self-employed.

Hristov said financial institutions are less keen to trust women, when providing credits. The national psychology, culture and attitudes are responsible for such developments, said he.