The confidence of Slovaks in the economy has deteriorated slightly year-on-year, according to the latest statistics from the Statistical Office SR, with consumer confidence following the trend.
The figures for January 2011 were higher than the same month of 2010, with roughly 60% of respondents in a survey carried out last month saying they expected the economy to worsen over the next year. This figure is 13 percentage points up on 2010.
The survey also showed 3% fewer optimists than last year with just 15% expecting the economy to improve, while another 21% expect it to remain more or less unchanged. The majority of people expects consumer prices to rise faster this year.
Consumer confidence was down at the start of the year, with the index coming out at – 26.6 points in January, which is a 4.5 points drop year-on-year.
As many as 63% of consumers feel the economy has worsened over the past year with a similar percentage expecting this trend to continue also this year. Half of those asked expect unemployment to rise over the next year, as well.