A quarter of Romanians are indebted reveals GfK survey

Newsroom 11/11/2010 | 14:49

More than 56 percent of Romanians say they find it hard to cover running expenses and almost 25 percent say they are indebted, making their share of the overall population the highest in the past seven years, reveals a GfK study*.

The population’s confidence index, measured by GfK’s Consumer’s Confidence Index, hit the lowest level in ten years in July when almost three quarters of Romanians felt that that their families’ financial situation was worse than a year before. The autumn brought a slight increase in the population’s overall economic confidence but “perspectives are gloomy enough” reads the study.

When talking a about their financial situation, slightly over half of Romanians say they expect things will worsen while in June and July their share reached almost two thirds. Only nine percent are anticipating a recovery while 33 percent consider that their financial situation will not change.

Pessimism remains high when it comes to overall macroeconomic indicators. In September and October, 83 percent of Romanians said they expect unemployment to rise and 77 percent say that prices will most likely increase in the following year. According to the same study 8 out 10 Romanians don’t have plans to save money in 2011, only 9 percent intend to buy a car and 4 percent have plans to buy a house.

Simona Bazavan

*The information comes from the Consumer Confidence Index, a survey cofinanced by the EU, and put together each month by GfK Romania. The data is representative for Romanians aged over 15. The sample includes 1,000 respondents, interviewd each month.