In the second quarter of 2019, the total number of employees aged 15 and over is 3262.8 thousand, of which 1733.2 thousand men and 1529.7 thousand women. The relative share of employed persons in the population aged 15 and over is 54.7%, with a share of 60.5% for men and 49.2% for women, according to the National Statistical Institute. In the second quarter of 2019, the number of unemployed persons was 142 thousand, of which 82.7 thousand (58.2%) were men and 59.3 thousand (41.8%) were women. The unemployment rate is 4.2% and compared to the second quarter of 2018 decreased by 1.3 percentage points, with a decrease from 6.1% to 4.6% for men and from 4.7% to 3.7% for women. According to preliminary data, in the second quarter of 2019, the total cost of employers per hour worked by their employees increased by 11% compared to the second quarter of 2018. The increase in industry was 9.8%, in services - 11.1%, and in construction - 10.6%. In September 2019, 32% of industrial enterprises cited labor shortages as a factor hindering their operations. In June 2019, the average salary was BGN 1253 and increased by 0.6% compared to the previous month. Compared to June 2018, the growth is 12%.

Half of the workers are paid a minimum wage Almost half of the workers are paid minimum wage. These are 1,044,397 Bulgarians (about 47 per cent), emerged from the written answer of the Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov to a question. The highest incomes - over BGN 9000, is received by 192,985 people, every tenth being under 35. The question asked for data on the taxes paid by several income groups - from BGN 6720 a year (which corresponds to the minimum salary from BGN 560 per month) to over BGN 108,000 - over BGN 9,000 per month. The argument for the issue is the preparation of the new budget for 2020 - an ongoing procedure. In the reply of Minister Vladislav Goranov, it is written that a total of 3,135,844 persons paid income tax to individuals this year (for income received in 2018). The amount they have contributed to the Treasury is just over BGN 3.149 billion. However, a total of 1,494,883 Bulgarians declared income up to a minimum wage. Thus, they contributed just BGN 515.594 million to the budget.

By the end of the year, the largest Bulgarian producer of aluminum roll and press products - Alcomet AD - will open a new roll workshop. With it, the company will double its capacity and expand its production capacity to 18,000 square meters. Roller production envisages the commissioning of a new generation of cold milling machines for band processing up to a maximum width of 2200 mm, a continuous casting line in a foundry, facilities for heat treatment and additional processing. In May this year, the company put into operation a new generation of press produced by European leaders in the field - SMS group, Germany. Alcomet AD's products are widely used in industries such as automotive, construction and architecture, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering. The main goal of Alcomet is the automotive sector, and in order to meet the extremely high requirements of this industry, the company has also started the certification procedure according to the international automobile standard IATF16949. The process is expected to close in 2020 and will lead to double-digit growth in sales of products intended for the automotive industry. The strategy of the company is to maintain its market share in its traditional products and to direct its additional production capacity from investments towards diversification of the product portfolio with new high-tech products.

Bulgaria's government said that Belgium-based financial group KBC has opened a shared services centre in the city of Varna, located on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. The company will employ over 300 people at the centre within the next few years. Workers at the centre will mainly be engaged in activities in the field of human resources, project management, IT, risk management, property management, etc. KBC picked Varna after looking into several other cities in Central and Eastern Europe. KBC is the owner of Bulgaria's third-largest lender by assets - United Bulgarian Bank (UBB).

Czech company CEZ will retain its Bulgarian assets if local authorities block their sale again. This was said by Tomasz Pleskac, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company. CEZ announced in June that it had sold its assets in Bulgaria to Eurohold for EUR 335 million. The deal must be approved by the Commission for Protection of Competition, which announced that it is opening proceedings at Eurohold's request. Last July, the antimonopoly watchdog prevented the sale to a previous bidder, the Bulgarian company Inerkom. "We do not want to prejudice the decisions of the Bulgarian antimonopoly body. However, we see no impediment to approving the transaction in terms of competition law. Currently, Eurohold does not have any energy assets in Bulgaria, so the situation on the Bulgarian energy market would not change in any way by selling our assets to Eurohold,” Pleskac said.

Bulgarian gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz will seek a EUR 150 million loan in order to finance the construction of an extension of the TurkStream pipeline and two compressor stations. These funds will help the company meet its financial obligations under the contract signed with Saudi-led consortium Arkad for the construction of the leg of TurkStream gas pipeline and the deal with a consortium comprising Germany's Ferrostaal Industrieanlagen and Bulgaria's Glavbolgarstroy and Glavbolgarstroy International for the construction of compressor stations in Rasovo and Provadya. In September Bulgartransgaz signed a EUR 1.1 billion contract with the Arkad consortium for the construction of the TurkStream extension. According to the terms of the contracts, Bulgartransgaz must make advance payments of BGN 300 million, VAT included, to the Arkad tie-up and about BGN 168 million, VAT included, to the German-Bulgarian consortium.

Bulgarian hotel operator Velina said that local Tomov Development has acquired a 61.06% stake in the company for an undisclosed price. A similar stake in the company changed hands on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange on September 30 in four deals worth a total of some BGN 7.8 million. At the same time, private individual Svetoslav Angelov sold a 45.10% stake in Velina for BGN 5.76 million, while another private investor Yurii Angelov sold a 15.78% stake for BGN 2.02 million. Board member Plamen Petrov also sold a tiny stake of 0.11% for some BGN 14,000. All three deals, which took place on September 30, were priced at BGN 8.35 per share. Subsequently, a 32.68% stake in Velina traded on October 2 in a single deal on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange worth BGN 4.2 million, or BGN 8.4 per share.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will send a letter to the European Union asking for a Brexit delay if no divorce deal has been reached by Oct. 19, according to government papers submitted to a Scottish court. Johnson submitted new proposals to the EU on Wednesday which he hopes will lead to a deal for Britain to leave on Oct. 31, the deadline set by Brussels. British parliament refused to back an agreement his predecessor reached with EU leaders. But, just over a week after a British Supreme Court ruling that Johnson had suspended the parliament unlawfully and weeks before the deadline, anti-Brexit campaigners turned to judges to try to ensure Britain does not leave without a deal. They want the judges to rule that Johnson must abide by a law passed by parliament last month requiring him to delay Brexit if he has not agreed a withdrawal treaty in the next two weeks.

The U.S. trade deficit widened in August for the first time in three months as exports increased but imports increased more. The politically sensitive gap with China in the trade of goods narrowed. The Commerce Department said Friday that the gap between what the United buys and what it sells abroad rose 1.6% to $54.9 billion from $54 billion in July. The deficit had fallen in June and July. But it is still up for the year despite President Donald Trump’s attempts to push it down by imposing taxes on imports and waging a trade war with China. Exports blipped up 0.2% in August to $207.9 billion. Imports increased 0.5% to $262.8 billion on a big increase in shipments of cellphones, which are scheduled to be hit with new tariffs in December as part of the standoff with China. From January through August, the deficit rose 7% to $428.7 billion from $400.4 billion a year earlier. The goods deficit with China dropped 3.1% in August to $31.8 billion and is down 11.4% so far this year.

Iran will not succumb to U.S. pressure and will use every possible way to export its oil, Iranian Oil Ministry’s website SHANA quoted Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh. Iran’s crude oil exports were reduced by more than 80% when the United States re-imposed sanctions on the country last November after President Donald Trump pulled out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. “We will use every possible way to export our oil and we will not succumb to America’s pressure because exporting oil is Iran’s legitimate right,” Zanganeh said. In response, Iran has gradually scaled back its commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal, under which Tehran accepted to curb its nuclear activities in return for lifting most international sanctions. The increasing U.S. pressure on Iran has scared away foreign investors from doing business in the country. Last year, China’s National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) replaced French oil company Total as the operator of Phase 11 project at South Pars gas field after the French company ended its participation rather than violate U.S. sanctions.