Bulgarians sink deeper into economic trouble

Bulgarians are sinking deeper into economic trouble, with half of the population cutting back on staples. This dire picture is painted by the results from a nation-wide representative survey by the National Centre for Studying Public Opinion, conducted at the end of September this year.

Some 52% of respondents said that they spend less on staples than before. Another 46% were unable to have their planned vacation in 2012, most of them between the age of 30 and 49, residents of the capital Sofia, in households earning up to BGN 300 a month or families with more than five members. Some 40% of adults in Bulgaria have been forced to put off planned repairs or furnishing of their home, up 5% from November 2011.

The share of people struggling with their monthly loan payments remained unchanged at 20%, compared to last year. Some 15% of Bulgarians postponed car purchases.

Some 16% of people surveyed confess they have been out of a job for a period of up to six months in the past year. The figure represents a rise of 4% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the number of people that have gone through a spell of more than six months in the ranks of the unemployed rose by two percentage points to 15% of participants in the survey.

Most financially-troubled households reduce their spending on luxury goods, services and entertainment. Some 87% of respondents said that they dispense with expensive food when in dire straits, while 81% choose to give up travelling. By comparison, before the start of the economic crisis in late 2008, the figures were 82% and 66%, respectively.

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