Coronavirus lockdown: Nearly a third of all Austrians expect to experience increasing financial pressure

It’s the third and moreover prolonged coronavirus lockdown to date in Austria, but the mood is still predominantly good. According to the latest snap poll conducted by Integral on behalf of Erste Bank Austria, 60 per cent of Austrians still currently feel positive overall, though 40 per cent – equivalent to 2.5 million people – admit they are suffering. And nearly a third of all Austrians (32%) expect to experience increasing financial pressure. People on lower incomes, and those whose income is not enough to get by on, have particularly negative views. And the economic damage is growing every day too. ‚We need to fight the pandemic with everything we have – that is clear. But we also need to prevent an economic crisis. This requires greater predictability for businesses and their employees. Widespread vaccination will enable us to feel more confident about slowly opening up the economy, which is why it is important we progress much faster here than we have in recent weeks’, says Gerda Holzinger-Burgstaller, CEO of Erste Bank Oesterreich.

A much more fraught financial situation, with reserves dwindling

As mentioned, 32% of Austrians are currently experiencing financial anxiety and concern in relation to the pandemic. This third of the population is in turn broken down into 26% who cannot totally support themselves on their income, and 6% who say their monthly income is not at all adequate for daily life any more. Erste Bank market researcher Karin Kiedler has found young families to be among the hardest hit: ‘The 16 to 29-year-old age group and people with small children under six are particularly affected and are increasingly finding it hard to meet their monthly obligations.’ According to a survey, 28 per cent or 1.8 million Austrians do not have any additional savings, and 73 per cent of these have no one in their immediate circle who could help them out either. Costs are thus being reduced. Forty-three per cent of all interviewees say the crisis has already forced them to cut down their expenses, while 11 per cent are planning to do so. But money is particularly being saved on things such as holidays and travel, as well as expenses for clothing and shoes, whereas few people are saving on insurance, telephone bills and banking.

Great satisfaction with their living situation

Living situations are an interesting sub-aspect of the survey: Despite several lockdowns and a lot of time spent at home, 77 per cent of interviewees were ‘happy overall’ with their living situation, with 40 per cent even saying they were ‘very happy’. But Austrians have used the last few months to renovate their homes. Thirty per cent have performed minor renovations since the start of the pandemic, while 26 per cent are planning to do this and 15 per cent have already completed major work. Seven per cent have made use of the low interest rate since March 2020 and taken out a loan. Half of these did so to buy a new house or apartment, and a fifth did so to renovate or refurbish during the lockdown.

Austrians getting itchy feet

With travel being very limited for nearly a year now, it is no wonder that the overwhelming majority of interviewees put travel as a top priority when asked spontaneously about their post-virus hopes and dreams. When presented with a list of suggestions, however, meeting friends and visiting restaurants still rank ahead of travel. Sixty-four percent of interviewees think they will fulfil their dreams once the pandemic is over.