According to the latest figures released by Eurostat, the Bulgarian economy is still most certainly heading downwards, but there are some signs of hope on the horizon.
Eurostat figures show that Bulgarian GDP shrank a further 6.2% in the fourth quarter of last year. This came on top of a 5.4% contraction in the third quarter, and a 4.9% contraction in the second quarter.
The signs of hope are the fact that Bulgarian industrial output grew by 4.9% in the fourth quarter after a similar slew of declines. During this recession, a quarter of such strong growth in industrial output is usually followed by a GDP growth in the following quarter.
A further sign of hope lies in the fact that Eurostat also found that Bulgarian labour costs rose fastest in the EU, with a growth of 11.3% in the fourth quarter — Bulgarian wages are known as being among the lowest in the EU, and so such a growth can only be seen as a good thing.
Wage growth is also known to be a key driver for house price growth, and while one quarterly result is meaningless to this measure, further growths could very well prove beneficial for the housing market.
Bulgaria’s housing market has been one of the worst affected by the international downturn, largely because over-development had caused a strain in touristic areas beforehand. In recent months there have been reports that foreign buyers are actively looking at Bulgarian property again, including a reported 50% increase in searches for property in the country from Primelocation. If these reports lead to sales this would definitely help to turn the economy around.
Source: novinite.com
