With a drastic cut in compensation packages in 2009, Romanian employees are likely to find themselves in the same boat over the next 12 months – 40% of the respondents anticipate a pay cut in 2010, while another 40% expect their salaries to remain unchanged, the GfK Consumer Confidence Survey co-financed by the European Commission found.
In February this year, 60% Romanians indicated a worsening of their financial situation compared to last year, when only half of the respondents said they had to tighten their purse strings. Only 20% of the surveyed anticipate an improvement in their personal finance.
Notwithstanding the sharp cut in median household income, 7% of the Romanians said they had received a pay rise in 2010, versus 13% in 2009.
An indicator of the population’s welfare is their tendency to save and confidence in job stability. Around three quarters of the respondents said 2010 is a very bad time to save, with 84% saying they didn’t plan to save now.
One of the main factors weakening the savings rate is the evolution of prices. 72% of Romanians said prices were higher in February 2010 from the same period of last year, and three quarters anticipating an obvious increase in prices for the remainder of the year.
Under these circumstances, 10% of the respondents said they plan to buy a car, 19% plan to spend on home repairs, and 12% said they would make durables purchases in 2010.
The GfK Consumer Confidence Survey from GfK was conducted among a sample of 1,000 individuals aged at least 15.
