Fastest Wage Growth in EU Unmasks Poorest Nation's Grey Economy
A chimney emits smoke at a bauxite treatment plant operated by Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG) in Kamsar, Guinea, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2015. With 43 percent of its population of 12 million living on less than $1.25 a day, Guinea ranks amongst the most impoverished countries in the world, according to World Bank data.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergBulgarian wages are growing at the fastest pace in the European Union, and it’s not workers who’re benefiting the most.
After decades of companies paying employees officially as little as possible, the government has doubled the minimum wage since the Balkan nation joined the EU in 2007, forcing businesses to raise official salaries. The measures are increasing state revenue from income and payroll taxes as the trading bloc’s poorest member -- measured by per-capita output -- fights the shadow economy estimated to be about a third of the official size.