BIEC: Prosperity index falls

The prosperity index calculated by the Bureau for Investments and Economic Cycles (BIEC) plummeted to 98.5 points. This is the first decline since the beginning of the year. BIEC said that the index has recently been recording an increase due to decreasing prices and rising salaries (including payout bonuses). Recently, however, the pace of salaries' raise slowed down to 2.5 percent (in March, it was nearly 5 percent).  Also, the employment volume is growing much slower. All these factors negatively influence the condition of households, reducing their purchasing power.