May 13 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's wage support scheme introduced by the government on March 31 to cushion the impact of the coronavirus pandemic will most likely remain in force after the current June 30 deadline for filing applications, labour minister Denitsa Sacheva said.
The labour ministry is currently in talks on how to further improve the scheme, popularly known as the '60-40 measure', Sacheva said in a video file published on the website of public television BNT on Tuesday.
"The measure will certainly undergo some changes and improvements," the labour minister noted adding that the size of the wage support contribution of employers under the 60-40 measure could be decreased in some sectors.
Last month, the European Commission approved the Bulgarian job retention scheme for preserving employment in the sectors most affected by confinement measures imposed over the coronavirus outbreak, worth 1.5 billion ($833.6 million/766.9 million) levs.
Under the scheme, the government is financing 60% of the wage costs, including the employers' social security contributions, of undertakings that would otherwise lay off staff due to the coronavirus outbreak. The measure is restricted to undertakings active in the sectors most affected by the current public health crisis, such as retail, tourism, passenger transport and culture.
According to the latest data, some 172,000 jobs will be retained through the 60-40 measure, Sacheva also said.
The number of daily registrations with labour offices across the country is decreasing. Still, there are about 3,000 new registrations per day, some 1,300 of which represent people who lost their job due to the coronavirus crisis, Sacheva noted.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)