Bulgaria ranks last among all European countries when it comes to expenditure for labour, representatives of KNSB labour union said.

Labour expenditures include salaries, social securities and other similar payments employers make, Dnevnik newspaper reported.

The average labour expenditure is 1.45 euro per hour. This sum is nearly 21 per cent lower than Romania’s expenditure.

Expenditure in Bulgaria was on the average 14.6 per cent lower than the average for the 25 EU member states. There, the sum reaches 21.22 euro per hour.

Bulgaria’s minimal salary totals 82 euro, which is 18 times lower than Luxembourg’s average. Minimal payments there are the highest in Europe, reaching as much as 1503 euro.

At the same time the price of services in Bulgaria approximates prices in EU member states. KNSB representatives said this was a worrying development, as the gap between wage and expenditure standards in Bulgaria was large.