The average monthly wage in Bulgaria reached BGN 1012 in December 2016, topping BGN 1000 for the first time ever, national statistics show.

Its value was BGN 974 in November and BGN 982 in October. For Q4, its overall value was BGN 990, 5.2% up quarter-on-quarter and 8.2% up on a yearly basis.

Year-on-year, public sector wages and salaries grew 5.1%, while those in the private sector grew by 9.4%.

However, public sector wages' average value in Q4 of last year remained higher than that in the same period of 2015.

The economic activities with the highest wages and salaries in the fourth quarter of 2016 were in the sectors "Information and communication" (BGN 2248), "Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply" (BGN 1757) and "Financial and insurance activities" (BGN 1699).

The lowest wages and salaries were recorded in the sectors "Accommodation and food service activities" (BGN 600), "Other services activities" (BGN 689) and "Administrative and support service activities" (BGN 750).