Analytics, Labour-market, Latvia, Society

Ilona Lepa, Nielsen director general for the Baltic states, noted, however, that the proportions of extreme opinions have changed for the better. In the second quarter of this year, 22% of respondents in Latvia described employment opportunities as good, whereas the number of downright pessimistic respondents dropped by 6 percentage points to 23%.

Although the mood in the labor market has been improving, 61% of consumers in Latvia feel that their country is in recession. Even so, the number of people believing that there is a potential for the situation to change has slightly increased, said Lepa.

Nearly three fourths of respondents unchangingly believe that Latvia’s economic state will not change in the next three years. Meanwhile, the number of optimists has risen from 2% to 5%, according to the latest poll. These respondents projected the economic cycle to turn in the direction of growth in the next 12 months.

“The sentiment of Latvian consumers has been improving on some issues, but belt tightening and prudence in spending are still continuing. People mostly forgo spending on clothes and try to reduce their gas and electricity bills, they save on entertainment outside home and plan their holiday expenses,” the Nielsen representative said, adding that half of respondents in Latvia regard the current situation unsuitable for larger purchases.

According to the Nielsen survey, the number of people worrying about the stability of their jobs dropped from 15% at the beginning of the year to 8% in the second quarter.

The Latvian consumer satisfaction index slipped two points from the first quarter of this year to 75 points in the second quarter.

Nielsen conducted the online poll in May 2016, interviewing 500 consumers in Latvia.