Over a third of Romania's households cover with difficulty current living expenses

Over a third of households in Romania (34.1%) cover with difficulty or with great difficulty the current living expenses, and if also taken into account those that declare some difficulty in covering the expenses of every day, the share reached stands at 77.2% of all households, according to a survey by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

The statistical survey "Living conditions of the population in Romania," in 2019, also reveals the fact that for one in five households the current expenses do not pose special problems, these being overcome quite easily, easily or even very easily.

Among the types of households that face current expenses with difficulty or great difficulty are those run by women (44.6%) or people aged 65 and over (40.3%), as well as the households consisting of two adults with three or more dependent children (50.3%). Also, in this situation are found 69% of the households whose head has the employment status of unemployed, 48.3% of those led by a farmer and 60.6% of those run by a person with another status.

"The estimation by households of the minimum level of income that would allow them to cover current expenses is directly related to the degree to which they cope with the expenses imposed by the day-to-day life. From this point of view, there are clear differences, generated by the characteristics of the households," reveals the research.

Thus, almost one in five households considers that they can make current expenses with a minimum monthly net income between 1,001 lei and 2,000 lei, and over a quarter of households need a monthly net income between 2,001 and 3,000 lei to cover monthly expenses. More than half of the households consider that the income necessary to cover the current expenses should be even higher than 3,000 lei per month.

In general, the trend is increased share of households that consider that they need a growing income to cope with expenses.

"The assessment of the needs of households in terms of money clearly demonstrates the large differences between the living conditions of households in the two areas of residence, especially in the area of extreme income groups considered necessary. Thus, if in rural areas more than 5% of households fall into the first income range (amounts up to 1,000 lei), in the urban environment, this group is considered appropriate in a percentage of over 1% of the households," the authors of the research mention.

Among the urban households, over 86% state that they would need for the current expenses amounts exceeding 2,000 lei per month. Incomes of up to 2,000 lei are considered necessary to cover current expenses more frequently by households run by women, those in the age group 65 and over, those with the occupational status of farmer, as well as households that do not have dependent children.

The authors of the research specify that in order to characterize the economic situation of households, the self-assessment of households regarding the extent to which they can cope with current expenditures was taken into account, using a scale of values ranging from lower level "with great difficulty" to higher level "easy and very easy".

The National Institute of Statistics (INS) announced on Tuesday the publication of the statistical survey "Living conditions of the population in Romania" in 2019, the content of the publication aiming at the general description of the living conditions of the population.