Consumers are more pessimistic than ever about the economy. They are gloomy about the economic situation in the coming year and think it is a bad time to make major purchases. That’s what it says Central Bureau of Statistics which has been measuring consumer confidence on a monthly basis since 1986.
Confidence has been falling since September, when inflation started to rise further. Since the war in Ukraine, inflation has risen even faster and consumer confidence has fallen at the same time.
The confidence figure now stands at -48 from -39 a month earlier. That indicates that there are far more people who are pessimistic about the economy than there are people who are optimistic. Confidence is significantly lower than during the lockdowns during the corona crisis.
Still spent more
Consumer confidence is an important indicator of how the economy will perform in the near future. If consumers say they have little confidence, it could mean that less will be bought and that companies will be able to grow less.
For the time being, consumers are actually spending more than a year ago. In February, 14 percent more was spent than in 2021. This growth also includes a corona effect. In the same month a year ago, corona measures applied, for example, which meant that restaurants and cafes had to remain closed. Compared to 2 years earlier, consumers spent 0.4 percent more.
Employment is still going very well. Fewer and fewer people have been unemployed in recent months. The unemployment rate in March stood at 3.3 percent, which is far below the average for the past decades.
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