Some 65% Of Romanians Believe They Will Be Worse Off Financially In 2011 – Poll

Only 6% of Romanians hope they will be better off financially in 2011 and 23% of them expect no changes in the future.

According to the survey, 68% of respondents see their financial status as worse than that in 2009 and only 5% say there are better off than the were in 2009.

In June, the consumer confidence index measured by the Consumer Confidence Barometer saw the sharpest decline in the past ten years, reaching 79%, compared with 40% two years ago.

According to the survey, Romanians’ pessimism is largely due to the Government’s austerity measures, which have worsened the overall economic situation and affected over 90% of the country’s population. Romanians are also pessimistic about the future, as 78% of them don’t expect an upward economic trend. Also, 85% of respondents estimate an increase in the jobless rate and only 4% are optimistic in this respect.

The survey also indicates that eight in ten Romanians find it impossible to save some money for rainy days Andover 85% said they would not be able to put some money aside in 2011 either, on account of rising prices and jobless rate.

Also, over two thirds of Romanians estimate higher inflation in 2010, whereas a relatively similar percentage of them said prices of most products have gone up over the past year. Only one in ten Romanians hopes prices will go down in the upcoming period.

Moreover, home and car purchases are not among Romanians’ investment priorities this year. According to the survey,in April this year 87% of Romanians said it is highly unlikely they will buy a home or a car in the next two years. Also, more than three quarters of respondents believe it is not a good time to spend large sums of money, not even on home redecorations or purchases of sanitary ware or heating stations.

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