According to the seasonally adjusted data, the GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2018 is 3.5% compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
In the first quarter of 2018 the unemployment rate was 5.7% and the employment rate of population aged 20 - 64 was 71.1%.
The consumer price index in April 2018 compared to March 2018 was 100.4%, i.e. the monthly inflation was 0.4%.
According to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute at the end of March 2018 the number of employees under labour contract increased by 1.5% as compared to the end of December 2017 and reached 2.31 million.
In the first quarter of 2018 in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2017 the average monthly wages and salaries decreased by 1.6% getting 1 077 BGN.
In the period January - February 2018 the Bulgarian exports to the EU increased by 16.5% compared to the same period of 2017 and amounted to 5 780.2 Million BGN while the imports grew by 12.3% and added up to 6 145.1 Million BGN.
In February 2018 the exports to the EU increased by 6.4% compared to the corresponding month of the previous year and amounted to 2 685.9 Million BGN while the imports grew by 3.5% and added up to 2 918.8 Million BGN.
In the period January - March 2018 the Bulgarian exports to third countries decreased by 17.4% compared to the same period of 2017 and amounted to 3 504.9 Million BGN while the imports dropped by 4.0% and added up to 4 955.2 Million BGN.
In the period January - March 2018 the total value of all exported goods (both for third countries and EU) amounted to 12 464.7 Million BGN and in comparison with the same period of the previous year the exports increased by 2.4% while the total value of all imported goods added up to 14 756.3 Million BGN and grew by 5.7%.
In March 2018, 1 942 accommodation establishments - hotels, motels, camping sites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short-term accommodation with more than 10 bed-places were functioned in the country. The total number of the rooms in them was 56.8 thousand and the bed-places were 114.9 thousand. In comparison with March 2017, the total number of accommodation establishments (functioned during the period) increased by 3.1%, and the bed-places in them - by 2.8%.
The total number of the nights spent in all accommodation establishments registered in March 2018 was 832.9 thousand, or by 6.4% more in comparison with the same month of the previous year.
The total revenues from nights spent in March 2018 reached 44.9 million BGN or by 12.9% more compared to March 2017.
According to preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute in the first quarter of 2018 the number of newly built residential buildings was 565 and the newly built dwellings in them were 1 530. Compared to the first quarter of 2017 the buildings were by 103 more (or by 22.3%) while the newly built dwellings in them decreased by 221 or by 12.6%.
Life expectancy at birth of the Bulgarian population calculated for the period 2015 - 2017 is 74.8 years.
Life expectancy at birth for male population is 71.3 years, while for female it is 7.1 years higher - 78.4 years.
According to the preliminary data, in March 2018 the index of production in section ‘Construction’ calculated on the base of seasonally adjusted data was 0.7% below the level of the previous month. In March 2018 the working day adjusted index of production in construction decreased by 1.5% in comparison with the same month of 2017.