Analytics, Latvia, Society

The survey shows that over the past month the share of respondents feeling that the situation in Latvia is developing in the wrong direction increased by four percentage points to 56% in March, while the share of respondents saying that the situation is developing in the right direction dropped by four percentage points to 28%.

The index assessing the overall situation fell by eight points to -28 in March, which is one of the lowest figures recorded in the past year. An even worst result, -31 points, was recorded only in June 2018.

The share of respondents regarding Latvia’s economic situation as critical rose by 5 percentage points month-on-month, from 47% in February to 52% in March, while the respective index declined by four points to 29 points, returning to the level recorded in July 2018.

In March 2019, the public assessment of the changes taking place in the Latvian economy was worst since September 2017, with the index slipping to -22 points.

The percentage of respondents expecting Latvia’s economic situation to change for the better in the next 12 months was down four percentage points to 18 percent, and the respective index dropped from -2 to -5 points.

The percentage of respondents dissatisfied with the material situation of their families rose from 26 percent in February to 28 percent in March, as the index declined from -6 to -7.

Asked to forecast their families’ financial state in a year’s time, 21%  (22% in February) of respondents were optimistic and 14% (13%) showed pessimism.

As for chances of finding a good job, 50% of respondents in March (48% in February) were pessimistic and 12% (12%) were optimistic.

The assessment of the government’s job performance remained unchanged from February, with the index staying at -37, which is a better result than in January 2019, when the index had dropped to -42.

SKDS conducted the survey from March 9 to 18, 2019, interviewing 1,017 respondents aged 18 to 75 in all Latvia.