Bulgarian economy is in recession, National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on Wednesday. In the first quarter of 2009, the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) posted a quarter-on-quarter 5 per cent drop, while the2008 fourth quarter showed a 1.6 per cent decrease compared to the third quarter.

Under a methodoly, which has been recently established across the world, one could talk about a recession when a GDP drop is registered in two subsequent quarters compared to the previous quarters.

According to the NSI data for the first quarter of 2009, GDP decreased 3.5 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year.

January - March 2009 GDP stood at 13,961 million Bulgarian leva or 7,138 million euro (9,300 million US dollars based on an average exchange rate of 1,501134 leva per dollar).

The gross added value created by sectors of the national economy was 11,606 million leva according to current prices. Calculated in comparable prices, the added value decreases by 2.8 per cent compared to the respective period of the previous year.

The industrial sector reduced its relative share in the added value in the added value of economy compared to the first quarter of 2008 and reached 31.1 per cent. The relative share of the added value from services is 64.9 per cent, up 1.7 per cent year-on-year. The relative share of the agrarian sector in the added value of economy went down 0.7 percentage points to 4 per cent for the first quarter of 2009.

The shares of the structure shares are justified by a real increase of the added value in the services sector by 2.5 per cent, while the added value generated by the industrial and agrarian sectors went down by 12.4 per cent and 4.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter, respectively.

A total of 81.7 per cent of the generated GDP is spent in the first quarter of 2009. The real reduction of the indicator is 6 per cent compared to the same quarter of 2008.

The foreign trade and services balance is negative. Goods and services imports exceeds the exports volume by 2,382 billion leva. For this period, the foreign trade volume was decreased by 21 per cent in real terms. Goods and services exports decreased 17.4 per cent in real terms, while the quarter-on-quarter drop is 21.1 per cent.

According to preliminary data for the first quarter of 2009, an employed generated a total of 3,822 leva of the GDP total volume for the reporting period, or an average of 9.3 leva per work hour. Calculated in comparable prices, the GDP generated by an employed decreased by 3.1 per cent in real terms, or 3 per cent GDP per work hour, less.

The total number of the employed in the first quarter of 2009 stood at 3,653 million and the total number of worked manhours was 1,498 million. In January - March 2009, the number of employed and the worked manhours decreased 0,3 per cent and 0,5 per cent, year-on-year.

The structure of employment by economic activities in the first quarter of 2008 and 2009 showed an increase of the relative share of the employed in the service and agriculture sector to compensate the industrial sector.

The gross added value per employed decreased 2.6 per cent and 2.4 per cent, in real terms and per worked manhour, respectively.

The labor productivity is highest in the industrial sector, an average of 3,527 leva of gross added value per employed and 8.30 leva for worked manhour. The labor productivity in the agrarian and the service sector stood at 733.50 leva and 3,193.90 leva gross added value per employed, respectively, generating an average of 2,3 leva and 7,4 leva per worked manhour, respectively.

Source: BTA