The government is proposing to raise the minimum wage for the country to BGN 1,077 from the beginning of 2025. The increase will be by BGN 144 respectively. That makes a rise of 15.4% compared to the current minimum wage. The minimum wage for the current year is BGN 933. Thus, from next year the minimum hourly wage will be BGN 6.49.
This is summarized in a draft government decree published for public discussion.
By law, the minimum wage for the country for the next calendar year should be recalculated by 1 September of the current year.
The new amount is determined by the provisions of the Labour Code and calculated as 50% of the average wage over 12 months. The starting data shall be the levels of the previous year’s last two quarters and the current year’s first two quarters.
The proposed minimum wage for 2025 is close to the basic assumptions of the Updated Medium-Term Budgetary Estimates 2024-2026. The minimum wage for the country for the next year was set at BGN 1,052.
The report accompanying the draft amendments setting the new minimum wage rate underlines that the increase will be an essential factor that will contribute to increse the motivation of the lowest-income segment of the population to actively participate in the labor market, preserve jobs, and raise living standards and reducing income inequality.
The necessary resources for the implementation of the decree shall be provided within the limits of the funds allocated to the budgetary organizations.