Moldova’s GDP in 2007 rose 3%

The Gross Domestic Product of Moldova last year had a nominal value of 53.354 billion lei, a 3% increase compared with the previous year, according to preliminary data, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the National Bureau of Statistics. The industrial enterprises manufactured goods worth 26.18 billion lei. The industrial production index was 97.3% on 2006. Agricultural output was 12.55 billion lei or 76.9% compared with the year before. The fall in agricultural production stemmed from the 33.4% reduction in vegetal production and the 1.8% decrease in animal production. Investments in fixed-capital totalled 14.93 billion lei or by 19.9% more on 2006. The construction-assembly works accounted for 8.48 billion lei of the total investments in fixed-capital. They rose by 20.5% compared with 2006. The number of houses put in commission fell by 9.9%. Retail trade was 28.3 billion lei, an 8.0% increase. The services provided to the population came to 11.85 billion lei, a 3.9% rise. Exports in 2007 totalled USD1.34 billion or what’s 27.6% more compared with the previous year. Imports rose by 37.0% to USD 3.68 billion. The balance-of-trade deficit was USD 2.34 billion or by USD 706.5 million (43%) higher. The average monthly salary in the national economy in 2007 was 2,063 lei or by 21.5% higher on the previous year. The average salary in the budgetary sector was 1,625 lei, while in the real sector of the economy 2,292 lei. The unemployed on January 1, 2008 totalled 18,900 according to the National Employment Agency. The number of unemployed people calculated according to the criteria of the International Labour Office in the third quarter of 2007 was 70,100.