The first European Barometer on Poverty and Precariousness

29% of Europeans say they are currently in a precarious financial situation. The majority (56%) are getting by, but need to be careful, with only 15% claiming to be in a good situation.

Europeans are concerned about the risk of falling into a precarious situation. Nearly one in two (48%) consider that there is a significant risk that they will find themselves in a precarious situation in the next few months.

More than one in two Europeans surveyed say that their purchasing power has declined over the last three years (55%). This situation is particularly acute in Serbia (63%) and France (60%).

80% of Europeans have already experienced at least one difficult situation because of their financial situation, and one in two (51%) has experienced at least one recently! Even in Germany, where the proportion is lowest, 39% of respondents have experienced at least one of these situations in the last six months.

Among the most common situations, 62% have already had to restrict their travels and 46% have not turned up the heating at home when they were cold. Even more worryingly, almost one in three Europeans (30%) has skipped a meal when hungry.

These difficult situations also affect parents. More than a third of European parents (36%) have already been in a situation where they could not provide for their children's basic needs.

Over the last two years, these difficult situations have become more frequent, and many Europeans are forced to adopt certain strategies in order to cope with inflation and falling purchasing power.

The most common behaviours are looking for low prices (85% do so) and frequenting hard discounters (70%). But some more serious situations affect many people: 38% no longer eat three meals a day and 31% of parents skip meals despite hunger in order to feed their children.

Although 64% of currently employed Europeans have an income that covers all their expenses, this is not the case for more than a third (36%) of them. The situation of working people is therefore very worrying, having a job does not necessarily mean being able to get by financially.

Although inflation has begun to fall and is causing slightly less concern than in 2022 in most European countries, it still remains a threat for many households. Thus, 62% of Europeans say they are worried about their ability to cope with inflation on food prices, 59% about a possible unexpected expense and 59% about an increase in the price of gas.

Europeans are ready to get involved to help others!

The majority of Europeans say they are prepared to get personally involved in helping people experiencing poverty. 76% say they could do so, a figure that is particularly high in the countries where reported social difficulties are most common: Greece (84%), Portugal (84%) and Serbia (84%).

https://www.ipsos.com/en/29-europeans-say-they-are-currently-precarious-financial-situation