About 61% of Romanians said they are worse off now compared to a year ago, according to a survey conducted by IRSOP. Roughly 30% said they are doing about the same, and 10% say they are better now.
The same survey revealed that 82% of Romanians believe that the standard of living in the country has decreased, while 11% believe it remained the same. Similarly, roughly 60% said that they are currently buying somewhat less now than they did last year regarding day-to-day consumption. Around 30% said they are buying about the same, and 10% are buying more.
When it comes to the expected economic situation, 54% believe they will be doing even worse a year from now, while 25% expect to be doing better, and 21% the same. The perspectives of the country as a whole are viewed even worse. No less than 67% believe the standard of living in Romania will be worse in a year, and only 19% said it will be better.
Expectations regarding the standard of living in Romania improve if the time frame is increased. As such, 41% of respondents said the standard of living will be better in 5 years, and an equal proportion of respondents said it will be worse.
According to the analysis accompanying the survey, economic depression and pessimism have reached an extremely high level among the population. On a scale from 1 to 100, the confidence index in economic growth and material well-being is 33 in the short term and 45 in the longer term, well below 50 points where optimism begins.
“When they are uncertain and distrustful, consumers watch every leu they spend, reduce investments, daily shopping, and significant purchases. For daily consumption, one-third of households are currently buying less than last year. The 10% who buy more than last year cannot compensate for the gap created by the 60% who spend less,” IRSOP experts noted.
Around 78% of respondents expect inflation in Romania to increase in the next 12 months, and only 10% said it will decrease. Similarly, 64% believe that the value of the leu will decrease, and 15% said it will increase.
Finally, the labor market appears to have entered turbulence, as highlighted by the survey. About 25% of employees believe they are at risk of losing their jobs.
“Fear of unemployment is coupled in most cases with a lack of confidence in finding a new job. Among vulnerable persons, 75% believe that obtaining a new job in their locality of residence is fairly difficult. These indicators suggest that the rate of job creation is much lower than the rate of potential layoffs,” the same source added.
(Photo source: Vlad Ispas|Dreamstime.com)
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