The minimum subsistence level in the second quarter of 2009 was 1,238.4 lei on average per person, a decrease of 10.9% compared with the second quarter of 2008 and a 7.5% decrease compared with the first quarter of this year. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the decrease was determined by the fall in the prices of the food products taken into account when calculating the minimum subsistence level, Info-Prim Neo reports. The subsistence level for the able-bodied population is the highest – 1,310.6 lei, especially for men – 1,392.1 lei. For pensioners, the subsistence level was 1,059.6 lei and represented 85.6% of the average value for the entire population. The minimum subsistence level for children was 1,144.5 lei a month, from 454.5 lei for a child aged younger than one to 1,262.6 lei for a child aged between 7 and 16. The monthly available incomes of the population in the second quarter of this year were 1,179.6 lei an average per person. The ratio of the monthly available incomes of a person to the average subsistence level was 95.3%, in contrast to 87.4% in the same period last year. The April-June average monthly salary in the national economy was 2,792.5 lei, by 8.1% larger than in April-June last year. This figure exceeds the minimum subsistence level for the able-bodied population 2.1 times. The ratio of the average monthly salary to the average minimum subsistence level for the able-bodied population differs, depending on the economic sector. The minimum subsistence level for the working population in the financial sector was covered 4.5 times, while the salaries in agriculture and forestry covered only 13.2% of the minimum subsistence level. The average pension on July 1, 2009 was 775 lei, up 20.4% from July, 1 2008. This is 73.1% of the minimum subsistence level for pensioners, as against 54.1% in the second quarter of 2008.