Some 60% Of Romanians Believe They Are Worse Off Financially Compared To Early 2009

„The year 2009 was one of the most pessimistic years for Romanians and 2010 does not seem encouraging: Romanians see their financial situation and current outlook as worse than those in the beginning of 2009. (..). In February 2009, close to half of Romanians felt their family’s financial situation is worse than last year,” the poll shows.

The reduction of income was strongly felt throughout 2009, which was seen as one of the most pessimistic periods for the Romanian public opinion.

„There is a minor segment of the population, whose income has improved compared to one year before, but this improvement has decreased from 13% in February 2009 to 7% in February 2010”, according to the GfK survey.

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For 2010, 40% of Romanians believe their income will remain the same, while 40% say they expect this income to decrease. Only two out of ten Romanians believe their financial situation will improve this year. The number of optimists has remained relatively constant since the beginning of the economic crisis, reaching slightly higher values in summer 2009.

„Some three quarters of Romanians believe this is not a good time to set savings aside, and 84% of Romanians do not expect to achieve savings in 2010,” the document shows.

Also, 72% of Romanians believe prices were higher in February 2010 compared to the same interval of 2009, and three quarters of the population estimate prices will grow this year at a pace similar to the one seen so far.

The information comes from the Consumer Trust Barometer, a study cofinanced by the European Commission and conducted monthly by GfK Romania. The data is representative for the Romanian population aged 15 and over, using a sample of 1,000 people interviewed monthly.