The average household income per capita in Bulgaria stood at 932 leva in the In June - September 2010 period, which is 2.2 per cent less compared with the like period of 2009, the National Statistical Institute said.

Household incomes in the period under review were derived mainly from wages which accounted for a portion of 80.7 per cent. The upward trend in pensions sustained, work wages went down in both nominal and real terms.

Wages continued to be the main source of income for households. In June - September 2010, the average wage was 467 leva per member of household, 4.3 per cent down from the like period of 2009. The second major source of income for Bulgarian households are pensions. In the period under review, the income from pensions increased by 4.9 per cent reaching an average of 284 leva per member of household.

Incomes from self-employment remained almost the same as in the like period of 2009 - 65 leva per member of household in absolute terms. Earnings from self-employment had a share of 7.0 per cent of a household's aggregate income.

Expenditures per member of household in the third quarter of 2010 (June - September) amounted to 845 leva, down by 5.3 per cent from the same quarter of 2009. Expenditures on food and housing, including energy, fuel and water, had the largest share, 51.7 per cent. Food and soft drinks were the biggest expenditure item in the budget of households, averaging 317 leva per member of household in absolute terms.

Expenditures on water, electricity and heating fell from 134 in the third quarter of 2009 to 119 leva in the same quarter of 2010, averaging 43 leva per member of household. Expenditures on transport and communications dropped by 5.5 per cent in absolute terms, averaging 50 leva per member of household in the period under review.

Households spent 39 leva on the average on alcohol and cigarettes in the third quarter of 2010, which represented 4.7 per cent of all expenses. Spending on clothing and footwear shrank by 10.7 per cent to an average of 23 leva per member of household in the third quarter of 2010. The share of spending on clothing and footwear was 2.7 per cent of all household expenditures.

Source: BTA