Czechs’ views on the economic situation of the Czech Republic have deteriorated sharply, according to a survey conducted by the Public Opinion Research Centre (CVVM).
While in March, almost half of the people rated it as good, this share has currently decreased to less than a quarter. At the same time, the share of negative ratings rose from 12 percent in March to the current 33 percent.
Czechs also expect the economy to worsen. Three-quarters of respondents expect a deterioration, while in January it was a third. The slump is an obvious response to the impending economic crisis associated with the coronavirus pandemic, the CVVM wrote.
The current economic situation in the Czech Republic is assessed as good by 23 percent of people, 33 percent perceive it as bad and 42 percent do not consider it either good or bad. According to the CVVM, the assessment of the situation moved to the level it was in during the second quarter of 2015.
“For the first time in five years, a negative assessment significantly outweighed a positive one,“ the authors noted.
The economic situation is expected to deteriorate this year by 76 percent of people. According to 30 percent of them, it will deteriorate “a lot” and 46 percent believe it will worsen “a little”.
Five percent even expect improvement and 16 percent say the situation will not change at all.
Expectations of the pace of development deteriorated severely since last year. Compared to June 2019, when the share of negative expectations reached its minimum, it is higher by 61 percentage points. The share of positive expectations decreased by eight percentage points compared to January of this year.
The assessment of the standard of living did not change significantly. The vast majority of the Czech public has a positive assessment, with just 12 percent perceiving it as bad.
Those who evaluate their standard of living as better are more optimistic in their evaluation of the current economic situation. According to the CVVM, optimism in the economy is also associated who express satisfaction with their own life, the political situation, and those with a growing interest in politics. Those who completed the highest completed education also expressed higher levels of satisfaction.
Praguers, respondents from the South Moravian Region, ANO movement voters, and those who trust the government are relatively more optimistic about the economic situation.
On the contrary, people working in manual-labor professions, those who do not know who to vote for, and people who do not trust the government are more critical.
The survey was conducted from June 20 to July 2 and was attended by about a 1,000 respondents.
Title image: Czech National Bank (ČNB)
