Estonians bracing for tougher economic times ahead, survey finds
A new Statistics Estonia survey shows Estonian residents are increasingly pessimistic about the economy and expect tougher times ahead.
The agency released its first business and consumer confidence barometer on Tuesday, taking over the survey series previously conducted by the Estonian Institute of Economic Research (EKI).
According to Economic and Environmental Statistics Department director Kaire Raasik, survey results show that Estonian residents have a fairly bleak outlook when it comes to the economy.
"People tend to see life becoming more difficult," she said, but stressed that the latest results cannot be directly compared with earlier data due to differences in methodology.
Even so, Raasik noted that expectations remain weak across households, with respondents expecting stagnant incomes and rising prices.
"People don't expect their household income to increase and believe prices will rise, making life more difficult economically," she said.
On the business side, service and industrial firms reported neutral sentiment, expecting conditions to remain largely unchanged.
Confidence was lowest in construction, where Raasik said businesses were most concerned about a lack of orders.
"There simply aren't enough," she said, "so their outlook isn't very positive right now."
Retail sentiment was slightly more optimistic in comparison.
Too soon to draw conclusions
The statistics official added that there are no clear signs of improvement in consumer confidence. While past data has shown fluctuations, she said the figures are best interpreted after several more months of data collection.
A more detailed analysis is expected in the fall, Raasik noted, coinciding with a separate review by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.
The economic confidence barometer measures confidence among households and four business sectors, forming indicators used in economic forecasting and European comparisons.
Statistics Estonia said respondents are selected randomly from national registers. The latest survey included 6,000 people and 1,450 companies across the retail, industry, service and construction sectors.
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Editor: Karin Koppel, Aili Vahtla
