Fewer and fewer respondents expect the economic situation in Poland to worsen. The percentage of people who declare that they are able to spare money from their current income is also growing, according to the latest survey “Situation on the consumer finance market”, compiled by the Association of Financial Enterprises in Poland (ZPF) and the Institute of Economic Development of the Warsaw School of Economics (IRG SGH).
“Consumer sentiment is in an upward trend. However, maintaining it is not a foregone conclusion”, says Dr Slawomir Dudek, an economist at the Warsaw School of Economics and co-author of the survey.
In the study conducted in the third quarter of 2023, attention is drawn, among other things, to the decrease in the number of respondents expecting an increase in unemployment in the following months. Such a scenario is feared by 42 % of respondents, while in the second quarter their percentage reached 53 % and a year ago – 60 %.
“The unemployment rate in Poland remains at around 5 %. This means that, despite fears of an economic slowdown, Poland has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe. The certainty of maintaining jobs also improves assessments of the financial situation of households”, assesses Marcin Czugan, president of ZPF.
According to the survey, 55 % of respondents expect that timely repayment of liabilities (e.g. loan and credit instalments) will not cause them problems. A year ago, the percentage of optimists was 47 %. The better mood among Poles is also confirmed by the fact that 5 % of respondents declare that they have financial surpluses and are able to save from their current income – their percentage has increased by 4.5 % year-on-year.
The result of the ZPF and IRG SGH survey is the Consumer Finance Market Barometer (BRCF), which shows the current mood of consumers, allowing to predict, among other things, their propensity to take on new liabilities. In the third quarter, the value of this indicator was 97 points. This means that it increased by 2.7 points.
Arkadiusz Słomczyński