The vast majority (over 90%) of Irish adults feel that the country should pull together to help the economy get back on its feet. And four out of five believe we should focus on positive, not negative aspects of the economy. 

These are some of the latest findings by market research company Behaviour & Attitudes. The company also reports that there is a very strong sense of anger, frustration and fear about future prospects. This research shows that Irish people are now in a state of high emotional anxiety with regard to the economy. 

With over 140,000 homes already in negative equity, 2% of mortgages in arrears and over 350,000 people on the live register, Irish people feel that now is the time to get positive about what can be done.

Consumer confidence

Behaviour & Attitudes has been tracking consumer sentiment since 2002 and has noticed a sharp drop in the last year in consumer confidence. By way of illustrating this, Central Statistics Office reports that the volume of sales for electrical goods has fallen by 22%, household equipment sales fell by 20%, motor sales and print media sales have seen a drop of 15% all in the last year. 

The research has also shown that one quarter of all Irish citizens are very concerned that either they or someone else in their household could lose their job over the next six months and 41% agree that their household is now struggling to make ends meet.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 6:37 pm and is filed under Economy, Ideas Campaign, News.