2020.08.1412:54:00UTC+00Bulgaria GDP Falls In Q2

Bulgaria's economy contracted in the second quarter as investments and foreign trade declined sharply amid the coronavirus pandemic, preliminary estimates from the statistical office showed on Friday.

Gross domestic product fell a seasonally adjusted 8.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, after a 2.4 percent increase in the first quarter.

Final consumption growth slowed to 0.4 percent from 4.1 percent, while the gross fixed capital formation declined 3.8 percent after a 1.2 percent increase.

Exports fell 20.3 percent and imports declined 20.0 percent.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP fell a seasonally adjusted 9.8 percent in the second quarter after a 0.3 percent increase in the previous three months.

Separate data from the statistical office showed that the jobless rate rose to 5.9 percent in the second quarter from 4.2 percent in the same period last year.

The number of unemployed persons increased to 192,200 in the second quarter to 142,000 in the last year.

The number of employed decreased 5.6 percent from the same quarter last year.