|
|
|
|
|
Downturn: the public reacts
22 November 2009
An interesting snapshot of how the economic downturn is affecting the general public has been revealed in a special Red C/ Sunday Business Post poll released today.
Almost half of all adults - and 58 per cent of wage earners - have seen their pay/package fall, and 17 per cent have lost their jobs over the past 12 months. This includes not just hourly pay but bonuses and other benefits.
The survey also shows that people are having to take actions to counteract the decrease in their income - these include shopping around, and cutting back on entertainment, eating out and holidays. More have cancelled or cut back on expenses such as health insurance and mortgage protection insurance.
Those surveyed were asked what they would do to reduce expenditure if they were in government. The majority said the first thing would be to bring in higher taxes for middle or high-income earners who have more than €100,000 in household income.
However, they believe cutting child benefit and pensions should not be implemented, if at all possible. The public was also asked about the property market, with the majority indicating that they think the worst is over in terms of house price falls. The following is a full breakdown of the poll results.
What impact, if any, has the recession had on your pay/package in the past year?
Almost half of all the respondents who answered this question - 48 per cent - have seen their pay and/or remuneration package cut over the past year as a result of the economic slowdown. Just 1 per cent have seen their pay increase, while 16 per cent said their pay did not change over the course of the year.
Looking purely at wage earners, the figures show that 58 per cent have had their pay/package cut, with 20 per cent saying it had remained the same. Of those workers who took a pay cut, almost half were aged between 25 and 44.
Reflecting the slowdown in previously well-heeled professions such as architecture and law,5 3 per cent of those who have seen their pay fall are in the ABC1 social category.
In which of the following ways, if at all, have you cut back on spending in the past year?
The public has adopted a range of strategies to cope with falling income levels, from shopping around for cheaper groceries, to cutting back on holidays and weekends away.
When it comes to grocery shopping,7 3 per cent of respondents visit different stores to find cheaper products. An almost equal number of men and women report shopping around in this manner. However, on ly 26 per cent of people make trips to the North to buy goods or alcohol.
Some 23 per cent of people are cancelling or cutting back on expenses such as health insurance and mortgage protection insurance, a strikingly high percentage.
However, socialising and entertainment have taken a bigger hit, with 68 per cent of respondents stating that they have cut back on activities such as trips to the pub or eating out.
A total of 66 per cent of people have cut spending on holidays and weekends away.
Almost two in five respondents have opted not to replace their car, in an effort to cut back on their spending over the past 12 months. There have been numerous calls from the motor industry for the government to introduce a car scrappage scheme in the December budget, in a bid to increase car sales.
What kind of financial actions have you taken as a result of the recession?
A total of 12 per cent of respondents say they have been unable to meet loan or mortgage repayments, and have ended up in arrears as a result.
But with disposable incomes continuing to shrink, only 20 per cent of people were able to save more over the past year than before the slowdown.
However,3 6 per cent of respondents have made an effort to pay off more of their debt, while 85 per cent have not taken on any more borrowings.
If you were in government and had to decide which actions to implement, which one would you implement first?
The options listed, ranging from cutting unemployment benefit to increasing taxes for higher earners, were chosen from a number suggested by different parties for the government to reduce expenditure in the next budget.
Almost half of people (47 per cent) say that the first thing they would do would be to bring in higher taxes for middle or high income earners who had more than €100,000 in combined household income.
More than 57 per cent of women went for this option, compared with 36 per cent of men. The next most popular option is to bring in cuts to public sector pay, with 29 per cent surveyed saying this would be the first thing they would implement. When broken down by gender, a total of 36 per cent of males went for this option, with 21 per cent of females doing the same.
These two options were the overwhelming frontrunners to be implemented to save money, if the public were to choose, with the rest of the options outlined selected by less than 10 per cent of those surveyed.
Cutting unemployment benefit and allowances is selected as the first option by 9 per cent of those questioned, while higher taxes for all is chosen by 6 per cent. Cuts in spending on public services such as health and education are selected by 5 per cent and cuts in child benefit and pensions are chosen by 2 per cent.
There was no significant difference between the percentages of males and females that selected these as their first options.
The remainder of people questioned either said they would select none of the above as the first measure to implement or said they did not know. When the figures are broken down into the working status of those questioned, there is broad agreement across the board. A total of 40 per cent of those working full-time and 51 per cent of those working part time opt for increasing taxes for middle or high income earners.
This figure is higher for those who were unemployed (53 per cent) and for housewives (60 per cent). Of those who are retired,4 6 per cent opt for this as their first choice, while 39 per cent of students go for this as their first option. However, the student sample was small.
Which would you definitely not implement, if at all possible?
Cuts in child benefit and pensions is the measure that the majority of those interviewed do not want implemented at all. A total of 48 per cent (44 per cent of males and 52 per cent of females) see this measure as a last resort.
Another 44 per cent say the cuts in spending on public services, such as health and education, should not be implemented, if possible. The total figure in this category is the same for males and females (44 per cent).
Another 25 per cent say that cuts in unemployment benefit and allowances should be considered only as a last resort. A total of 17 per cent believe that higher taxes for everyone in the country should not be considered, while 11 per cent believe public sector pay should be left alone. Only 5 per cent believe that there should be no change to taxes on middle and high-income earners.
What percentage do you think houses prices have fallen from their high in 2007?
Those questioned for the poll were asked for their opinion on the fall in house prices since the peak of the property bubble in 2007. The majority (28 per cent) believe that prices have fallen by between 21 and 30 per cent.
A total of 19 per cent of those questioned believe that prices have fallen by between 31 and 40 per cent, while the same figure believe that they have fallen by between 11 and 20 per cent.
Eight per cent say that they believe it is up to 10 per cent, while the same percentage believe that it is between 41 and 50 per cent. Another 5 per cent believe it is more than 51 per cent, while the remaining 14 per cent say they do not know.
What percentage do you think house prices still have to fall in value before they bottom out?
Looking ahead, people are more optimistic about how far house prices have to fall before they bottom out, with the majority (49 per cent) believing it will be less than 10 per cent.
The next highest option is between 11 and 20 per cent, which is chosen by 17 per cent of those questioned.
Some 7 per cent believe that it will be between 21 and 30 per cent, while 6 per cent believe it will be between 41 and 50 per cent. Just 4 per cent think it will be between 31 and 40 per cent, and 3 per cent believe that it will fall by more than 51 per cent. A total of 15 per cent do not know.
Those questioned for the survey were also asked what percentage they thought house prices would have increased from where they are now, if at all, in five years’ time. Again, the majority believe it will be under 10 per cent (58 per cent), with the next highest percentage (14 per cent) opting for between 11 and 20 per cent.
The same number (14 per cent) say they do not know, with 7 per cent of people opting for between 21 and 30 per cent.
The option of house prices rising by between 31 and 40 per cent,4 1 and 50 per cent and more than 51 per cent are all chosen by 2 per cent of those questioned.
|
|
|
